The Rise of the Grey Lords
by lynn999
Summary: The end of 3rd yr Sirius is captured by Snape, given to the dementers by Dumbles and Fudge.A different Harry emerges after with help from unusual quarters. Not for cannon lovers.Some cliches. 1st story so advice is welcome. Grey Harry!Multi HP/DG/FD/SB
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter and The Rise of the Grey Lords **

**Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world. **

Summary: At the end of Harry's 3rd year, Sirius is kissed by the Dementor's and Harry learns some unbelievable truths. He gains some unusual and powerful allies that set him on a very different path.

There will be Dumbledore, Hermione, Weasley's and Ministry bashing.

Intelligent, powerful, political, Lord Harry. Not much here is cannon from the end of 3rd year and will concetrate on the ruthless use of political, positional and economic power.

AN: This chapter has been edited and some changes have been made and characters cut. (Edited 26thJan)

**Prologue October 2005**

It is a beautiful Autumn morning as 25 year old Lord Aries (Ari) Jamille Chambord-Peverall-Potter-Black, Duc de Bordeaux, Earl of Radnor, Hereford and Shropshire, heir of Slytherin and Griffindor and the youngest Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, stands on the balcony of his bedroom in his favourite home high over the Gironde River where the Garonne and Dordogne merge . As he stands there the early morning mist is rising above the swirling river below and the first rays of sunlight are beginning to make an appearance to the east, it really is the best time of day to view this breathtaking vista. Even after living in this home for 4 months of the year for the last twelve years he has never tired of this view, the feeling of peace and contentment that it engenderes in him. Behind him on their huge king size bed still asleep are his three beautiful wives.

Hearing a faint noise behind him, he reluctantly and quietly turned to room and closed the doors to keep the early morning chill off 'his beauties' as he affectionately called them. Another faint noise caused him to turn to meet the beautiful aquamarine eyes framed as they were by long dark golden eyelashes of his veela wife the Lady Fleur Appoline Delacour-Peverall-Chambord, the Duchesse de Bordeaux, Countess of Radnor, Comtesse de Grasse, Master Warder, Master Duellist and occasional fashion model.

At 5ft 8in tall with long smooth silver blonde hair, classically perfect features and a perfect toned 34C 22 34 figure. She was still as perfect as she was 10 years ago when she was 17 and he a bumbling 15 year old clueless teen. She was smoothly muscled with flawless smooth lightly tanned skin despite the birth of their son Jamille Louis, Viscount Lamarque 2 years ago. She was the personification of female allure and beauty, even more luminous at the moment 2 months into her second pregnancy.

Before she could ask the question he saw in her still sleep glazed eyes there was movement from beside her.

The Lady Susan Amelia Bones-Potter Countess of Hereford, Baroness Bones, Potions Master and the creator of the Lycanthropy cure opens her bright sparkling deep blue eyes framed by thick curling sooty black eyelashes and smiled sleepily at him. At 5ft 6in Susan was the shortest of his wives with a mane of untameable deep auburn hair that framed her face with natural cork screw curls. Her skin had a pale translucency only seen on true redheads. She has a triangular face, with small straight nose, slightly pointed chin, deep pink lips that appeard to be permanently smiling and mischievous she was quite simply gorgeous especially with her usual figure of 32D 22 33. Ari had to smile at her as she struggled to sit up which at 8 month pregnant was almost impossible without assistance; she was the vision of a fallen angel. She was quite simply irresistible and the epitome of innocent charm and delicate femininity. Before he could move forward to help her up a giggle was heard from next to her and he met the deep violet sultry eyes of his final wife.

The Lady Daphne Marie Greengrass-Black, Countess of Shropshire, Baroness Greenwitch, Master Healer and Charms Mistress. She was the tallest of his wives at 5ft 9in, her blue black hair fell in silky waves around her aristocratic beautiful oval shaped face with her almond shaped eyes almost obscured by long equally black eyelashes, high cheek bones and full red pouty lips completed the picture. Her 36DD 24 36 figure only more womanly following the birth of her daughter, the 18 month old princess of the family Lady Carina Luna Black, Baroness Blackstock. Daphne was quite simply the ultimate in female seduction.

One thing they all had in common was their intelligence, magical power and uncompromising love for their husband and mate.

They were known to the international wizarding world as the 'Three Graces' for their beauty, intelligence, power, accomplishments and loyalty.

All three of them looked at their husband wondering why he was awake at 7am on a Sunday and drinking in the sight of him as he stood highlighted in the early morning light, dressed only in a pair of black silk pyjama bottoms there was no trace of the bespectacled, scrawny, abused and disillusioned boy that had been known as Harry Potter. Except his eyes….those beautiful emerald green eyes which shone with love, confidence, intelligence, cunning and overwhelming power.

No, there was little trace of cute little Harry Potter in Aries Jamille Chambord Potter Black. The man who stood looking at them was the definition of male grace, elegance and beauty. He stood 6ft 3in tall with broad shoulders, tapering to narrow waist and hips with powerful thighs and drool worthy buttocks. He was sleekly muscled and gave the impression of leashed power and grace. The more wary and knowledgeable would recognise him as an apex predator. Which indeed he was in his animagus form of a black Leopard. His hair once a rats nest now hung in jet black waves to cover his shoulders, framing his face which took the best of his three parents; James' mouth, Sirius' high cheekbones and aristocratic look together with Lily's large almond shaped eyes and straight nose. When put together they gave a male beauty that was too refined to be called handsome but too masculine to be thought effeminate. Overall he was a reflection of his heritage and the most powerful wizard in the world.

As the first awake and more orientated than her sister wives Fleur pushed her hair out of her eyes and asked the question first 'Ari, what wrong? Why are you up so early?'

With a smile he replied 'Just observing my beauties and catching the sunrise. I have some outstanding paperwork to do for the Gnomes before the little beasties get up. Go back to sleep my loves. I do need to get this done then we will take the beasties riding while Susy rests '.

Fleur just huffed and looked a bit put out but kept quiet rather than admit that her son Jamille Louis was the beastie his doting daddy called him, instead she snuggled back down pulling Susan into her arms. The feisty Daphne however was not as restrained 'Aries Potter-Black my daughter is not a beastie'.

He laughed and smiled the cheeky smile, James Potters smile and responded 'No my darling your daughter Lady Carina Black is the beautiful, polite, well behaved Black Princess. My daughter Cari, however is a wilful, scheming, manipulative, conniving little witch…. In short a beastie'.

Daphne tried to fight it but a smile tugged at her lips, she couldn't be angry with him for long so with a sigh she lay back and snuggled into the other side of Susan before 'I have to agree, but its your own fault. Can't you say no to her just once?'

The shock, panic and disbelief on his face were evident 'S… no to my baby girl' he gulped 'she cries and she looks at me with tears in her eyes and she's so beautiful' he really sounded appalled at the thought of saying no to his little princess.

Daphne sighed and snuggled in closer ' You are a whimp, I'll talk to her later darling go get your work done or get in here and start making a brother for her'.

He looked tempted by the thought and his eyes suddenly flared with passion, but it died as he remembered what he was thinking of before his Beauties woke up. 'Later my loves, get some rest and I'll see you at lunch'.

After following his morning routine he waved his hand drying his hair and tying it back in its usual loose low tail.

Following a quick breakfast of croissants and preserves he sighed and waved to his elf . 'Thank you Jules, I will be in my study until lunch. Please see that I am not disturbed'. With coffee in hand Aries sat down in his chair in what was a magical version of a comfortable executive office.

The sigh that escaped him was one of pleasure and contentment as the chair moulded to him and he looked around the room that his maternal grandfather had once managed his estate and job as the Head of the French Department of Law Enforcement from.

With a smile playing around his lips he looked at the picture of his wives and children and closest friends taken a month ago and looked at his children his princess Carina who was the image of her mother except for his eyes, she was being hugged by her godmother Luna Malfoy and tugging on the back of her godfather the new Minister of Magic Neville Coker Longbottoms robes whilst his wives Pansy and Astoria laughed at her, while desperately holding onto their sons Franklin and Louis .

Jamille again looked just like his mother, except his silvery blond hair was just as untameable as his grandfathers had been, he also had the vivid emerald green Chambord eyes. In the photo the little demon was trying to run away, whilst, he was being held back by his godfather Draco from getting into any more trouble, he was laughing and holding out his hands to his godmother Hanna Abbott-Zabini to rescue him.

Stood looking on her husband Blaise who had a similar grip on his godson Scorpius Malfoy who wanted to go back to causing mayhem with his cousin and best friend Jamie.

Ari himself was stood with his arm around his pregnant pocket venus Susan and Daphne and Fleur talked to Anthony Goldstein and his wife Gabrielle Delacour-Goldstein.

Between them himself as Chief Warlock, Neville as Minister, Draco as Head of the DMLE, Blaise as Head of Finance and Anthony as the new Chief of the Department of Justice they essentially ran Britain and the vast majority of the Magical economy in Europe and the Commonwealth. Their ladies ran Hogwarts (the board of governors), the press and Wizarding Wireless, St Mungos and society.

All of them had come a long way from clueless teens who had banded together to ensure their survival by overthrowing a corrupt system and shaping a world secure from graft, incompetent politician's, non-magical threats and Dark Lords.

Now they were known as 'the Young Bloods'; all purebloods or fullbloods, magically powerful with most of them having magical creature blood, wealthy, intelligent, hard-working, ambitious, primary heirs to old titled noble families, physically attractive, charismatic and above all ruthless.

Aries acknowledged that his life was good as he sat in the comfortable sun drenched study in his mothers' childhood home. As his eyes moved on from the party he had held a month ago they passed over the special golden perch of his companion for over 11 years the majestic Fire Phoenix, Pol. She was currently nestled in ashes in the special tray under her perch, having undergone a burning day yesterday. Looking up his eyes fell on the magical portrait of his paternal Great, Great Grandfather Lord Phineas Nigellus Black, Runes Master, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Earl of Shropshire and the sneakiest bastard since his ancestor Salazar Slytherin to ever grace Slytherin House.

This was the portrait of arguably his most important ancestor and in many ways his mentor and role model. He was the paternal Great Grandfather of both James Charles Potter- Baron Brockhampton and Sirius Orion Black- Baron Shrewsbury his fathers, who were both the husbands of and magically bound to his mother Liliane Angelique Chambord- Duchesse of Bordeaux, Vicomptesse de Lamarque.

Unfortunately, no portraits existed of his parents', they had not had time before they were murdered 2 of then at the age of 21 and the third at the age of 35 after 12 years of unlawful imprisonment without a trial.

As he sat sipping his coffee he allowed himself the indulgence of remembering how the path to his current life had started, almost 11 and half years ago in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Things would have been so different for them all had it not been for the help of a semi sentient magical building, a free house elf, a Fire Phoenix and the magical painting of his ancestor.

Chapter 1.

Hogwarts School Second floor Corridor May 14th 1994 

It was 10:30 on the morning of May 14th 1994 as a student walked along the corridor heading for of all places the out of order girls' bathroom on the second floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most distinguishing feature of this student (apart from a mop of unruly black hair) was the picture of absolute misery and despair that he presented contrasting with the waves of angry magic which seem to pulse from him at an ever increasing rate.

Who was this student? Who was displaying such conflicting emotions as despair and extreme anger? He was in fact probably the only teenager immediately recognisable to every witch and wizard in the English speaking magical world (and most of the none English speaking). Namely, 13 year old Harry James Potter- Griffindor 3rd year student, the boy who lived, defeater of the Dark Lord Voldemort, saviour of the Philosophers Stone, Slayer of Basilisks, Parselmouth, son of Lily and James Potter- deceased and most recently godson of Sirius Orion Black- murdered today by Dementors Kiss due to the connivance of Severus Snape, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, on the orders of Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic and Albus Dumbledore- too many titles, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and his headmaster.

These latter two had murdered his innocent godfather, his last link with his parents the person who should have raised him from the time his parents died.

Just an hour after he had been given a vision of a home and the life he should have had with his Godfather eg. free from slavery, abuse, hatred and bigotry he that was all he had ever experienced at the Dursley's house. He refused to call No 4 Privet Drive his home it had never been his home. It was his prison where he was serving 'hard' time for a reason or reasons he did not comprehend.

Oh not to forget the Head Bastard Dumblefork said it was the only place he was safe from people who wished him harm. Anyway having just been given a glimpse of his dearest dream coming true it had been snatched from him.

Sirius was dead, an innocent man, his godfather and the first person he could remember saying they loved him and were proud of him, was murdered. Sirius had just told him that there was something very important he had to tell him. He had just said 'Ari, I'm not just your guardian and your parents best friend, I'm…' when The Grease Ball aka Snape and blown the door of the Shrieking Shack off and had stunned and bound an innocent man and dragged him away whist his own so called friends had tackled him to the floor, taken his wand and stopped him going after Snape. It was the last he saw him he had been murdered within 15 minutes of Snape dragging him away.

He now needed somewhere where he would not be disturbed so he could think and plan what he was going to do when school finished in a months time. At the moment his thoughts were going from despair at Sirius' murder, to a new intense dislike and disdain for his so called friends Hermoine (know-it-all) Granger and Ronald (jealous bastard) Weasley.

They had both told him that Sirius was a murderer and deserved to die. Oh and he had only just met the man so why was he upset. He had tried to explain what Sirius had told him to back up his innocence, in the time they talked before he had been captured by a gleeful Snape and since Xmas when he had been meeting him secretly. His 'friends' would not listen. He had tried to explain how he had felt an instant connection with Sirius and how his instincts were screaming at him that he could trust him. They told him he had been confunded.

At this point he gave up, told the both to FO, that any friendship they may have had was at an end and after grabbing his wand from the Weasel he left them without another word.

Harry knew that what they were saying was not true. His mind could not be manipulated and Sirius had not had a wand. Before his first year he had returned to Diagon Alley and had purchased (among other things) a rather expensive gold chain to wear that was charmed to deflect any mind manipulation (except the imperious curse), from any source including potions and neutralise any poisons or harmful substances he might be given. On a number of occasions he had felt the chain vibrate indicating a mind charm hitting him but none of them had worked or a rush of magic sometimes when he was drinking his orange juice at breakfast.

Why did little naïve Harry Potter take these measures you may ask? Well despite appearances to the contrary Harry Potter was not the average student he portrayed. He would not have survived at the Dursley's if he wasn't cunning and intelligent, after all there was a reason the hat was so set on him going to Slytherin. However, he had seen very quickly what the magical world expected him to be like and had decided to give them the Harry Potter they expected. It was also evident that he had enemies in this new world and it was only prudent to be prepared.

He had reasoned that it was much easier to hide who he was and prevent any suspicions about him if people saw what they expected see. In this way he was able to study ahead and in all of the elective subjects, whilst giving the impression of being mediocre. He had learnt that he did not really have to worry about grades until his 5th year and his OWL exams, which he could have passed now with high grades if he was allowed. However, he figured by the time he had to show his true level of knowledge and intelligence he would have a plan of how to deal with any fallout. It looked like his time scale would have to be moved up two years, he had to leave soon.

As he walked his despair over Sirius and his newly developed hatred of his former friends gave way to a far more primitive emotion. By far the strongest and dominant emotion he was experiencing was a deep fury and rage at Dumbledore and Fudge. This was even deeper than his hatred of Voldemort and his relatives. All he could think about was getting away from Hogwarts and going somewhere he could learn enough to destroy the individuals and the society that could see an innocent man spend 12 years in hell and then sanction his murder. It was blatantly obvious that they expected him to believe it was for his own safety and continue to be their hero.

That was not going to happen. With a sudden focus, he estimated he had today and most of tomorrow before he was summoned to the headmasters' office to be told what he was supposed to feel and do now. He really needed to get to the chamber so no one could find him and start planning his escape.

As he was entering the bathroom a sudden popping sound caused him to turn around. A squeaky 'Master Harry Potter Sir?' had him stopping to look down at the little elf he had made friends with over the last year 'Oh Dobby what are you doing here?'

The little elf looked up at Harry and pulled his ear before responding 'Master Harry must be coming with Dobby. Hoggy Warts she said you is needing to hear the Dumbles and Bossy Know It All. Hoggy Warts She is telling Dobby that Harry Potter sir must not be seen but needs to listen to his bad friends or Harry Potter sir could die'. He started to grab Harry then and try to drag him down the corridor.

'But Dobby they are not my friends any more and the Headmaster has done a very bad thing' Harry Explained.

The little elf was now crying and still holding on to his hand 'Dobby is knowing about Harry Potter sirs dogfather. You must come Hoggy Warts she is telling Dobby he must bring yous to listen to Dumbles and the not friends'.

Harry considered this for a second and shrugged, he had often had the impression that the castle was trying to tell him something and he might gain information to help him destroy the Old Bastard.

With that he pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket and threw it over himself and Dobby and said 'Ok Dobby, take me where Hogwarts wants me to go…..but I must warn you Dumbles can often see through this cloak'.

Dobby clicked his fingers and waved his hand over Harry before saying 'You is not being seen now Harry Potter sirs magic is hidden now' and with another pop both elf and student vanished to reappear silently hidden behind a bookcase in the Headmasters office.

What very few knew anymore was when the founders built Hogwarts they had infused a huge amount of their magic into the building. The aim of this was to power the wards to protect the school and its pupils and especially those of their own blood lines from harm, be it external or internal. Again when the founders including Salazar who was much maligned gave the last of their magic to power the castle and its wards.

The continuous use of magic over the millennia the castle had stood had continued to strengthen and imbue it with magic to the point where it was now arguably sentient.

Hogwarts was now an independent entity who could reason within the parameters set by her founders, the most important thing being the safety of the students and particularly any heirs of her founders. She had been able to feel young Harry's presence the moment he had arrived almost 3 years ago and knew instantly that he was of the blood of her makers, their magic was distinctive and a part of her construction. She had not felt this for many years, particularly as it had the feel of both Salazar and Godric. So she had resolved at that point to keep a close eye on the young heir.

Those 3 years had not pleased Hogwarts; her heir had been in danger at least once every year and almost died. This year however, her suspicions had been confirmed the headmaster had been instrumental in putting her heir in danger and just yesterday she had felt Salazar's other heir die, at the command of the headmaster. The confirmation had come from both Godrics' hat and His Phoenix Polaris, who had stayed in the school after Godrics death as a guardian for the school and Godrics heir's.

The manner in which Salazars' heir had been killed and by whom had been confirmed by the un-bound portrait of another of Salazar's descendants, Phineus Nigellus Black- Former Headmaster of Hogwarts.

It was not widely known that the paintings, elves and other guardians owed their allegiance to Hogwarts and not the Headmaster. It was only with her support that Dumbledore had been able to command these beings. She now instructed all the beings of Hogwarts that the current Headmaster had lost her support because of his actions towards her heirs.

She had known for a while that Dumbledore's was wandering from the path set by the founders, it was now time to act. He was harming her Heirs. Hogwarts had known for sometime that Dumbledores' magic was weakening as he aged and had allowed him to draw power from her store. This was now stopped as was his control over the castles wards (although she left him able to feel them, she was part of Slytherin after all and it would not do to alert him to his loss of control).

He was not aware of this loss of Hogwarts magic yet other than feeling slightly tired. He was not aware either that he did not control the castle now or know that the original wards were now active. These wards took the magic from any item or being of evil intent within the Hogwarts grounds and castle, together with repulsing any new source of evil .

This removal of malevolent magic was done by draining the magic and cleansing it before using the cleansed magic to feed the wards.

It would be some time before the effects of these wards were noticed and it would be far too late when they were noticed to change the effects.

It was now time to prepare her heir

**Headmasters Office ****Morning 14****th**** May 1994**

At the same time Harry was beginning to focus his mind on planning his escape from the Headmaster. Dumbledore was gloating over the fact he had finally and permanently got rid of Sirius Black and with that had gained the Black Family Resources to add to the Potter Family he already controlled through Harry Potter.

His plan was progressing well, Harry had been beaten and starved into submission by the muggles as planned. The Weasley's had played their part of caring for the lonely young boy so he would look on them as family. The Consort Contract was already signed; Harry James Potter would take as a Consort for the Potter Family Ginevra Molly Weasley on her 16th birthday. This would ensure the Weasley's were kept happy with 10 million galleons Harry would be paying for Ginevra as his Consort. The Marriage Contract was now also prepared ready for filing for Harry James Potter and Hermione Ariana Dagworth-Dumbledore aka Hermione Jane Granger his heir, Great, Granddaughter and number one spy and controller of the boy-who lived.

He heard the sound of the charm indicating there was someone seeking entrance and felt the magical signatures of his granddaughter and the Weasley boy, although he briefly wandered why his door guardian had not warned him of their arrival he dismissed it as not important at the moment and promptly forgot about it.

Unknown to Dumbles the loss of Hogwarts magic had an immediate negative effect on his mind he no longer had enough magic to augment his mind and compensate for the frailties of his advanced age. In other words he was now a normal though still powerful old man and his families' curse of senility was manifesting itself. This would only get worse as Hogwarts would continue to drain his magic whilst he was within its walls and continued with his current harmful intentions and actions towards her young heir.

With his grandfatherly expression fixed on them he motioned them to take a seat 'Ha young Ronald and Hermione. Sit would you like a lemon drop or perhaps a cup of tea?'

Summoning an elf which took longer to arrive than usual he requested 'tea for three please and perhaps some those delicious biscuits with chocolate to go with it?' raising an eyebrow questioningly, looking at Weasley who was currently shoving an hand full of lemon drops into his mouth and could only nod vigorously in response. With that Dumbledore nodded the confirmation to the elf and settled down to question his two main spies on Potter. Smiling briefly at Hermoine's grimace of distaste and dislike at Weasley.

'So tell me, how is Harry now? Does he understand yet that he had to have been confunded by Black and he had to be executed to ensure his safety?' He questioned, though with less of a twinkle in his eye than usual.

Before they could answer the elf came back in with the tea tray with a slightly louder popping sound than normal. This was ignored by those present (who paid any attention to elves anyway?), so they had no idea that their conversation was about to be overheard, not only by the unbound past Headmasters and mistresses, who were now free of the constraints that kept them from telling the current Headmasters secrets as well as the magic that bound them to be loyal to the Headmaster. But they were also being observed by the subject of the conversation; Harry Potter and his elf Dobby.

Ron responded first giving a sickening view of a mouthful of partially chewed biscuits

'Nah…bloody self absorbed git is convinced Black was innocent and its all Snapes fault that he got kissed' He swallowed and continued 'He says he doesn't want us to talk to him until we are prepared to listen to him… says we're not friends and to leave him alone…. Threatened to hex us the next time he saw us and stormed off cursing and crying'

He grabbed another handful of biscuits and shoved them into his mouth before starting to talk again before Hermione could interject, he said 'Professor I want more money next year to pretend to be his friend, particularly as we've gota put up with him most of the summer as well' Swallow 'I could have been hurt by Black while we spied on them meeting to report to Snape'.

'Professor Snape, Ron' Hermione corrected with a huff

Dumbledore appeared to consider this and smiled ' Of course Ronald I will arrange payments to increase to 500 galleons a month and continue the payments over the holiday….but only if you remember you have to be friends and close to him' He looked and Ron and after a second asked 'Agreed?'

'Yeh, Yeh, OK' Was the Weasels response 'I should be able to get a Firebolt by next year… show the spoilt git how much better than him I am'

'Excellent Ronald I am glad we are agreed and make sure he doesn't study anything new again won't you it would not do for young Harry to learn anything that could be dangerous… after all we wouldn't want him to go dark would we?'. With Ron's nod of assent he reached for another handful of biscuits just a he was hit by a Somnus charm by Dumbledore.

Hermione smiled at this and put her tea down before saying 'Thank merlin for that. Grandfather I think I would have hexed him myself in another minute… couldn't you have found someone better to help with our plans to control the Potter Power'.

Dumbledore sighed with feeling 'Unfortunately not my dear, I needed the whole clan on board in my plan. Potter needed to see them as his surrogate family and you and Ronald as his only friends and confidants, with me as his kind Grandfather who only cares for his safety. If not and he was more independent he would have left the Dursley's after his first year. This would have led to him not only learning things I don't want him to know. He may have asked questions I do not want to answer… particularly if he had contact with Bones, Augusta Longbottom or Morgana forbid Narcissa Malfoy.'

He was quiet contemplating for a while and stroking his beard before continuing. 'No we must continue on this path, you are doing an exemplary job of keeping him away from making friends with others and getting him to the stage where he will not make a move without checking with you. Whilst young Ronald distracts him and keeps his studying to a minimum'.

He raised his hand as Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt 'Yes, I know that despite that he is still 5th in his class although it is actually 3rd but his potions mark is being kept down by Severus'. There is nothing we can do about that, his parents and his godfather (who he did have a blood bond with) were three of the brightest students to ever graduate this school, their marks have still not been bettered' He looked across at his great granddaughter and smiled at the scowl on her face 'No not even by you yet my dear'. He continued 'If Potter failed completely or was only average or below it would be remarked upon and could raise difficult questions again'. 'No we will leave it as it is this year, as long as Potter goes back to his summer prison so that the wards can be maintained to keep up the drain on his magic, everything will go well'.

Hermoine sighed 'Ok Grandfather, at least he is easier to be with and manage than Ronald'. She stopped for a second looked at Dumbledore and asked 'What now? Are our plans still in place for the year after and your alter ego?'.

Dumbledore actually smiled at chuckled at this 'Yes the Marriage Contract for you and Potter has been completed… I had to wait as you know until Black as his legal guardian was out of the way. Now it can be filed once my Magical Guardianship has been granted. It is vital that you regain his confidence and affection. I have to emphasise this does need his signature because he is now over the age of 13 and could take his Lordships now. That must be avoided at all costs. I have been repeatedly questioned this year by Bones, Augusta Longbottom and more importantly Malfoy as to when he his going to take his Head of House status.' He frowned and continued ' His ignorance must continue until I have legal guardianship. This will take a minimum of 3 months even with my influence… in the meantime continue to work on deepening his affection, I am still able to drain his Trust Vault twice a year so with that money is not the issue'. He finished very seriously. 'When it all goes through you will be married on his 16th birthday'.

Hermione shrugged and asked her next question ' So as soon as there is an heir you can reactivate Voldemort and they can kill each other'.

He chuckled again, a very sinister sound this time. 'Of course my dear Harry doesn't know that he really did destroy Voldemort when he was a child and with my transfiguration and imperious on Quirrell and my charm work on the diary, he will believe he is back and the false prophecy will convince him that only he can kill him… a bit of acting and self-transfiguration and I can convince the death eaters of his return. I know the charm to reactivate the Dark Mark after all. A little bit of mayhem to get rid of any threats to us and finally Potter will be killed allegedly by Voldemort, witnessed by his best friend and wife Hermione Potter and mentor Albus Dumbledore, who arrived near the end, too late to help Potter who was fatally wounded by then, but in time to kill Voldemort. We will be hero's and the greater good will be served with us ruling the Wizarding world with the help of two of the largest if not the largest fortunes in the Magical world. You can carry on your relationship with the Weasley Girl as she will be a Consort of House Potter, I know how much you like dominating you pets'.

Hermione smiled brightly at that 'Alright Grandfather I trust and believe in you and I can be patient and stick to the plan for the next 3 years' she paused briefly and said ' I think I will leave Harry alone for the next couple of days to brood and get some Trust, Loyalty and Affection potions from Severus to bring him back under control before the term ends.'

Dumbledore smiled smirked in response ' Excellent suggestion my dear, do not tell him who they are for, you will be able to key them to him yourself with your blood, that way they will be more effective.'

'OK goodnight I will let you know how it goes in a couple of days'. As she stood up she felt a little dizzy and yawned suddenly feeling tired. Like her Great Grandfather she brushed it off as a long day and made her way back to Griffindor Tower without thinking about it again, more concerned with shutting up a recently revived Ronald Weasley who wouldn't shut up about being late for lunch.

Phineas Blacks portrait had been paying very close attention during the meeting in the Headmasters office. He had felt 2 surges of Hogwarts magic as both the Dumbledore's planned the demise of the Potter-Black and Hogwarts Heir. Their magic was now joining that of all of the harmful artefacts to be found in Hogwarts, including the controller of the power draining wards on the Heirs usual summer residence and the predatory creatures that had been introduced to the forest by Albus' where also weakening, they would be gone by next school year. Although the wards would not kill them, unlike some of the creatures. They would still extract payment while they were within Hogwarts wards and they would be repulsed from returning once they left. It was just a shame that the power drain on the pair was not permanent and they would recover somewhat when they left Hogwarts, although it was doubtful that Albus would ever recover his full power and he would never again be as powerful as he was just a short time ago.

Already the older and the young acromantulas were dying and new eggs not hatching. By next Yule the balance would be re-established and the Forest would once again be described as Enchanted and not Forbidden. The vile creature Argus Filch was unconscious in his office already, it was doubtful he would last another 2 days. Most of the third and second year Ravenclaw females who had been bullying 2nd year Luna Lovegood were also coming under the influence of the wards, they had gone too far by locking her out of the castle one night in January and with Dementors in the grounds her life was only saved by hiding in Hagrids hut, even with that she was admitted to the hospital wing with pneumonia and she now had terror filled nights re-living her mothers death. Peeves the poltergeist had exploded and vanished for good.

Finally, Severus Snape that disgrace to The Noble house of Slytherin had been harming and mind raping his Great, Great Grandson for years and gleefully watched and cheered when his Great Grandson and Slytherin Heir had been murdered by Dementors Kiss. In fact he had been the one who delivered Sirius Orion Black bound and unconscious to his execution. As he lived at Hogwarts all year round he would be a squib by next school year. He had already thanked Hogwarts for reinstituting the old wards.

But of even greater impact to the Wizarding World was the fact that Dumbledore and his Granddaughter in their arrogance had never considered the possibility that their machinations could be and indeed had been observed. They had been witnessed not only by unbound portraits but also the central figure of their plotting. Their plans for terrorism, murder and their ultimate rule of this world had been witnessed by the only survivor of the main line and Heir to the Black, Potter-Peverall and French Chambord families, the primary Heir of Slytherin and Griffindor 13 year old Aries Jamille Chambord- Potter-Black.

He watched the slight movement of the magic in the Headmasters office that indicated that the young wizard had been popped out by the elf to coincide with the door closing behind the traitors and hurried out of his frame to an empty one to wait for his heir. Now the real fun would start.

AN: Heavily edited and some change in characters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 2 (lightly edited 25th January 2012)**

**Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world. **

_Author Note; this chapter will be a little slow but it redefines the relationship and friendships of Aries (Harry's) parents and a bit more of Dumbledores past deeds._

_Thank you very much for taking the time to read and review, your comments are appreciated and valued ._

Chapter 2 

Hogwarts Room of Requirement May 14th 1994; Truths and History

It took Harry a moment to gain his balance and re-orientated himself after being forcibly popped out of the Headmasters office. He was incandescent with rage and Dobby had had to restrain and silence him quite soon after Hermione and Dumbleduck had started talking.

Otherwise he would have ripped them both apart.

In fact as he looked at Dobby now he pale, breathless and looked ready to collapse. Momentarily diverted from his rage and very concerned for his little elf friend, he asked 'Dobby, are you alright? Is there anything I can do? Look, there's a sofa here lie down and then you can tell me'

Dobby opened his mouth to protest, Harry pulled a bit harder on the hand he was holding and pushed the elf to sit down.

'Thank you Master Ari, Dobby will be fine in a minute. Hiding Masters magic was very hard without a full bond…. Oooo Dobby must not be saying that' he then looked up at Harry with his eyes very wide and practically popping out of his head.

Harry focussed in on the last thing the elf said 'full bond, what do you mean Dobby your not bound to me…are you?'

Exercising the patience he had learned during his time with the Dursley's he sat next to Dobby and said 'It's alright Dobby, can you tell me what you mean by full bond? I promise I wont interrupt…ok?

'Master Lucius bound Dobby to Master Ari to protect young master. Mistress Cissa was so worried Dumbles would hurt young Master. Master Ari has to say he accepts elf bond for Dobby to be able to serve him properly. This gives Dobby Master Ari's magic and Dobby will be strong again.'

Harry was gob smacked, why would the Malfoy' s of all people bind an elf to him to protect him? Didn't they want him dead, they had supported Voldemort hadn't they?

He blurted the last out 'But they followed Voldemort! They wanted to kill muggleborns, they beat you!'

At this Dobby looked really sad and tears ran down his face 'Old master Abraxus beat Master Lucius for a month to make him serve the Dark Lord, when he cursed Mistress Cissa with Crusi pain poor Master Lucius joined the Dard Lord.' Before Harry could say anything Dobby smiled again a viscous grin 'Master Siri killed Old Abraxus with Pox Curse and Master Lucius spied for Ministry', ' He Was so happy when Master Ari killed the Dark Lord' Harry stood up suddenly and started to pace deep in thought with his rage again rising.

This was such a lot to absorb and he realised again that he needed answers. Suddenly he stopped and remembered a piece of Dumbleforks conversation and repeated quietly, almost to himself '….particularly if he had contact with Bones, Augusta Longbottom or Morgana forbid Narcissa Malfoy.' He asked out loud but still to himself 'What did the Old Bastard mean by that?'

Before he could say anything else or ask Dobby any more questions there was the sound of a throat being cleared behind him followed by a cultured voice saying 'Perhaps it would be best if I answered you questions young Aries'

Harry spun round to see a large magical portrait of man he who looked a lot like Sirius.

He then blurted out ' Who are you and why did you call me Aries?'

'Those are just some of the questions I am going to answer young Heir. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Phineas Nigellus Black, Earl of Shropshire, Runes Master, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Earl of Shropshire, Heir of Slytherin, Great Grandfather of James Charles Potter and Sirius Orion Black and your Great, Great Grandfather.'

He continued ' I am here to give you all of the information you should have known all of your life and much more' His voice took on a very haughty, professorial tone when he added ' You will sit down and not speak until I ask you if you have any questions…do you understand?'

Harry or Aries bit his lip to stop himself saying something he was sure would be deemed inappropriate. He sat in the comfortable stuffed armchair that had appeared behind him and just nodded his head.

Taking this as a signal to start Phineas settled back in his own winged back chair and began 'Your full registered name is Aries Jamille Chambord-Potter-Black. Family and friends called you Ari which is where the assumption that your name was Harry came from. There was never an announcement of your birth, in actuality the only persons who knew about you outside of family and close friends were the Order of Phoenix and only a few of them. Your Godmother was Narcissa Malfoy and you godfather was Edgar Bones. Edgar was Amelia Bones' the current Head of the DMLE's younger brother, he has a daughter here named Susan who was born just a few months before you were. We will get back to Susan later. Edgar and his wife Violet died six months after your parents, investigations into their deaths met a dead end and it was assumed that escaped Death Eaters or a muggle gang were the ones responsible. Susan was left in Amelia's care and Amelia took on the role of Regent for the Bones family until Susan is of age.'

Phineas took a drink from the glass that was on the desk in his portrait and said 'Lady Hogwarts if you will could you supply our young heir with some lunch as well as calming, corrective and nutrient potions.' After the potions, pitchers of juice and plates of sandwiches, cakes and fruit arrived on a table in front of Ari Phineas resumed 'Now take the potions and try to eat as much as you can from what's in front of you. There is a lot of damage to your body caused by the muggles.' He stopped for a couple of minutes while Ari swallowed the potions, which were surprisingly pleasant for a change. As he started on sandwiches Phineas continued.

'Now I said it was assumed that Death Eaters or muggles were responsible for Edgar's death. They weren't, the guilty culprit was actually Albus, or more precisely one of his minions a Mundungas Fletcher it was planned that as they approached the street entrance of the Ministry of Magic they were shot with a muggle gun. They were on the way to finalise their guardianship of you and Albus could not allow this at any cost. He needed you under his control to achieve his goals, which you now know.'

After hearing this Ari was glad Phineas had made him drink a Calming potion, even with it he was boiling with anger. Before he could stop himself he again blurted out 'But what about Malfoy?'

Phineas huffed and continued 'Narcissa had been forced to drop her case 3 months previously when young Draconis was kidnapped and she was threatened that if she persisted in trying to gain custody of you he would be killed. For obvious reasons Narcissa complied. That was probably the most terrible thing that Albus could have done to the Malfoys, it broke Narssicas' heart. I used to watch you when you visited Black Manor you, Draco and young Neville Longbottom. At 9 months old you floated toys to each other and your parents never knew what colour you would be with the amount of times you changed each other. You were inseparable.' The portrait smiled reminiscently 'However, enough waffle and sentimentality, back on track. Again it was Albus who had intervened this time he used Snape who for political reasons is one of Draco's godfathers. His other was James'.

'Now we get to your parents. Your mother was Lady Liliane Angelique Chambord, the only daughter and Heir of Louis Chambord, Duc de Bordeaux and married to a full blood veela named Angelique. He was also descended from the magical branch of the French pre-revolution royal family and had Wood Nymph blood from his many times Great, Grandmother a Nymph who mated with the then Duc. She gave birth to twins a boy and a girl. Her daughter she took back to the forest with her and the son she left with the Duc as his heir. It is from the Nymph blood that your mother gained her flaming red hair and green eyes… your eyes and the reason no one who has not been told ever realised she was half Veela. Although the hair only occurs in female Chambords occasionally now, every descendant of that line since the late 1600 has had the eyes.' Phineas took another sip of his drink, but Ari didn't interrupt this time.

He was finally learning something he had wished for as long as he could remember. He was learning about his parents.

Phineas resumed 'Lily was an amazing woman in terms of both her beauty and her intelligence. I remember James called her his Lily Flower but it was Sirius' name for her that was most appropriate. He called his Fire Lily, because that's what she was all fire, passion and perfect elegant beauty.' He paused again briefly looking sad and appeared to have a tear in his eye before speaking again.

'Now as a Veela Lily was expected to find a mate eventually. This usually occurs after puberty; however, she met both Sirius and James at a summer party held by the Malfoys at their Châteaux in La Rochelle. All pure-blood children are expected to attend similar parties all over Europe to make friends and form alliances within their age groups for their coming school years.

Lily was expected to attend Beaubatons like her parents before her. But, during the party she became separated from the main group and she was being harassed by the Lestrange brothers. James, Sirius, Frank Longbottom and Lucius (who despite their parents' differences were good friends) interrupted the brothers and hexed them quite severely. As a result of this Lily spent the rest of the day with the boys, particularly James and Sirius. During this short time a bond began to form between the three. When she went home that night she told her parents categorically that she would be going to Hogwarts and not Beaubatons''.

''Her father who had always given in to his princess agreed, with the proviso that her identity was disguised. After all she would be in anther country where he would not have the influence to protect his daughter as he would have had in France. He was the Head of the French DMLE and had many enemies who would use his daughter against him. He found a cover story of a muggle-born Lily Evans who had been killed in a car accident recently. Minerva McGonagall and her late husband Angus had been friends of Louis and Angelique before Angus' death and she was contacted. She was sworn to secrecy and agreed to leave Lily Evans' name on the Hogwarts roles and send the acceptance letter of that name to Liliane Chambord. Witha few memory charms to any magical families in the muggle area, it was accepted that she was Lily Evans''.

'As you know Aries all three of them were sorted into Griffindor, Merlin knows how they managed that, a more conniving, sneaky group of students has never walked these halls.''

Harry actually laughed at this before Phineas continued ''Truthfully, they were the ultimate Slytherins', true snakes hiding in the house of the lion. It was helped that James was of the blood of Griffindor, whilst Sirius was a descendant of Slytherin and like yourself a parselmouth, though no one outside the immediate family knew that.''

''During their first 4 years they continued to draw closer and the bond between the three developed, with James blatantly pursuing Lily, whilst Sirius was more subtle in his approach. This is where the tales came from that Lily continually turned James down. She didn't she hadn't gone through puberty at this point''.

''Lily had a very kind heart and she took two other students into their group, Remus Lupin who is a werewolf and friendless until he came to school and Peter Pettigrew a sly little rat of a boy who would have been a very poor student if Lily hadn't felt sorry for him and helped improve his studies. There were actually 5 Marauders. Lily was the brains behind the group''. Phineas paused briefly smiling as he remembered some of the groups antics.

Looking at his now primary heir he sighed and continued the tale ''The summer before their 5th year Lilys' puberty hit and she came back to Hogwarts a very beautiful young woman. It was also over this summer that she realised that she would not have to choose between her beaux garçons. She felt the pull of a mate to both of them, so betrothal contracts were drawn up by Arcturus Black and Charles Potter and accepted by Louis Chambord for when all 3 came of age''.

''The war was gaining momentum and it was known that there were Voldemort supporters at Hogwarts so they decided to keep their new status secret and carry on as they had in previous years. This was very difficult particularly with Lily's new maturity. Most of the males kept away because of the Marauders, one however, would not. That disgrace to Slytherin House, Severus Snape was obsessed with Lily and began to stalk her every where. The marauders kept him away with increasingly vicious hexes until their 7th year, none of the boys took potions and Snape attacked Lily after a potions class and tried to rape her''. This last was spat out with an almost growl, clearly indicating that it would have been very bad for one Severus Snape if Phineas had been alive to deal with him.

However, he smiled viciously as he said ''She did her first full Veela magic and threw fire balls at him and then obliviated him and left him in the corridor. Not long after he struck again, in his twisted logic he reasoned if he got rid of James, who was Lily's acknowledged boyfriend she would turn to him.''

Phineas stopped as though collecting his thoughts before he continued ''Just before they graduated he cursed James with a Dark infertility curse. There was no way to reverse it and with Lord Potter dying the previous December Snape was effectively guilty of a crime that would see him in Azkaban for life, if not 'Kissed' immediately''. He grimaced before coldly saying ''Unfortunately, Albus protected him and dismissed the complaints and charges against him''.

By this time Phineas had been talking for over an hour and Ari had finished most of the food. Phineas knew he could have shortened his tale significantly, but when he saw how his heir was listening intently and soaking up the story of his parents like a sponge he decided to tell him everything he knew about his parents up to Sirius' incarceration.

Ari was sat internalising what he had learnt so far, his mother was a Veela, she had had two mates, they were friends with the Malfoys, he had played with Malfoy and Neville as a child, Narcissa Malfoy was his Godmother, they had nearly lost Draco to get custody of him Susan Bones' father had been killed because of him. Then he stopped and corrected himself, people had been killed by Albus Dumbleduck to keep control of him.

His eyes again became focused and settled on Phineas Black, he spoke for the first time in nearly an hour, determination clear in his voice ''I'd like to hear the rest please''.

Phineas smiled ''Wonderful young Aries, but first, Lady could we have some tea, juice, phoenix elixir and maybe some pastries.''

As the requested items again appeared on the table by Ari he asked ''Phoenix Elixir? What's that for?''

Phineas chuckled and replied ''With your potions grades I'm not surprised you don't know young Aries'' he chuckled again while Ari scowled and muttered at him ''Smug old bastard you deal with bloody Snape''.

Phineas, mock frowned at him and replied 'I heard that Potter-Black. Mind your manners to an elder of your House, the Phoenix Elixir will heal the injuries inflicted on you that were never healed properly, Lady Hogwarts tells me that they are numerous.'' Ari went red with shame and looked down at his hands in his lap.

Phineas saw this response and very sternly said ''Lord Aries, you should be proud you survived, you were a defenceless child'' and in a milder tone he continued ''Hmm right where was I mmm oh yes Snape, Sterility hex and graduation. Yes, they graduated the top 3 students in their year with Lily the top student since Tom Riddle aka Voldemort''.

''They were highly sought after by many but the boys decided on Auror training, unfortunately for their father-in –law they chose the British Ministry. Lily went to the research section of the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable. Her main area's being Charms and Potions research. Her first priority though was to find a way to overcome the damage Snape had done to James to keep the Potter genes and magic alive. You need to consider Aries your Potter heritage goes back to 580BC and a young Celtic clay worker and pot maker who lived in a place now called Leominster in the county of Herefordshire. His name was Rhodric the Potter and he used magic to shape his pots into new beautiful and useful shapes and more importantly glazed with a hard impervious glass made of sand, he then traded up and down the nearby river Wye to the Severn estuary, becoming a very wealthy land owner before he died and passed his secrets onto his son. Hence the name Potter and the fact that your ancestral Potter home is Potters Croft Castle in Leominster** and you are the Earl of Hereford. So that Snivelling Greasy vile creature nearly brought this heritage to an end.'' Phineas snarled at this thought while Ari absorbed just how long his family had been using magic.

''Anyway, the Potters are the oldest recorded line of magical humans in Britain. They have never intermarried, too close to their family but have kept their magic strong with magical creature including, High Elves, Nymphs, Veela, Fae and many other. One thing you need to understand Ari is there are no 'muggle-born' wizards and witches, only the decendants of two squibs who come together by accident and reactivate their magic with new blood or what your mother called 'genetics'. By the way never and this is very important, marry a muggle that really does weaken and dilute our magic for generations later''.

''And that gets us right back on track. As I mentioned your mother was a brilliant intellect what muggles call a genius. She found way to combing the muggle science of these 'genetics' with potions and charms. She used a charm on James' blood to isolate half of his …mmm oh yes chromosomes''.

''With this she developed a potion for Sirius to take that contained James' chromosomes and a charm that when cast on Sirius' would with the potion change the genetics of his sperm so that it contained half of James and half him. They could then as she put it 'make like rabbits' for the month that the charm and potion were effective to make an heir.'' He laughed out loud then and said ''It worked Lily was pregnant in a week''.

Ari's mouth dropped open and all he could say was ''Bloody Hell my mother was awesome''.

He couldn't believe it, his mother had invented magical genetic engineering.

Phineas started to talk again ''That she was young Aries. It took her almost 2 years to develop and it is doubtful if any other witch or wizard could have done it. The way she delicately performed a very complex charm to destroy half of the matter that made Sirius, Sirius and replaced that half with the matter that made James, well James. What's more she never told anyone what she had done except Louis and Arcturus (and myself of course)''.

Ari opened his mouth to say something but Phineas stopped him again ''Shush young Aries, what I haven't told you yet is that she found a way to concentrate all of both your fathers' magic, this has made your magic extremely powerful. It's also given you all of the family magic of the Potter and Black families''.

Ari could not respond to this there really was no response he could make to the fact that he received 50 percent more magic at conception than any other child had, he really was different, he was probably the only person ever born with 3 full parents.

Phineas then said ''If you add this to the fact that all 3 of you parents were very powerful to begin with it gives you an idea of your potential and why Albus wants to control you and bind your power to him. He doesn't know about Sirius but he does know that Lily and James were very powerful and he knows that when you were 5 you had the same power he had at 25….. I think I got side tracked with your unique conception and missed some things. Your mother and fathers were married June 12th 1978 a week after they graduated''.

''They had a private ceremony at Châteaux Chambord in Lamarque, Bordeaux. They hadn't seen Remus or Peter to invite them so the only people there were their other very close friends and family. Louis, Arcturus, Narcissa, Lucius, Augusta, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Marcel and Appoline Delacour who were Lily's Godparents and Louis and Angeliques best friends and finally Angelique mother and Appolines Grandmother the Matriarch of the Veela Nation who performed the Bonding.''

''As I said earlier Charles Potter died in December of '77 and his mother my Grandaughter Delphinae had died shortly after. Sirius fell out with his psychotic mother Walburga when he was 11 and sorted into Griffindor instead of Slytherin and his father Orion was a waste of Black blood he was so weak. Sirius stayed with them until he was 13, only for the sake of his younger brother Regulus. However, Arcturus removed him from his parents half way through the summer after his second year when he visited to continue his instruction as heir of Black and he found him unconscious from the beating Walburga had given him. He never saw his parents again and stayed with James or Arcturus during holidays''.

He sighed again ''Regulus was his mother's son and joined the death eaters when he was 16; he was killed by Bellatrix when he got cold feet and wanted to leave the death eaters. No one betrayed Voldemort and lived. Orion died not long after and Walburga in 1982, Arturus had disowned them both after their treatment of Sirius''.

''Unfortunately, the tragedy does not stop there Louis was killed when you were 12 months old in a raid on Voldemort sympathisers in Nice and Angelique as a full blood Veela could not live without her mate.''

''It is a tragic that you will not get to meet your Black Great Grandfather Arcturus and Potter and Chambord Grandparents as well as your parents. But unlike Lily, James and Sirius they do have magical portraits like this one at your ancestral homes.''

''Now Aries before we conclude your family history induction, I think you need dinner. If you wouldn't mind Lady Hogwarts and Dobby'' Ari looked up sharply he had forgot the little elf was there ''Yes Master Black'' Dobby answered.

''Fetch all of Lord Aries belongings from his dormitory. He will not be returning there''. Phineas ordered.

After Dobby popped back with his trunk and broom, Phineas dismissed him with a ''Observe the Weasels, Dumbledore's and Snape until Lord Aries calls you. I will be continuing his instruction in this room until you are called. Oh wait a moment. Aries, leave your meal a moment and hold Dobby's hands and say after me ''I Aries Jamille Chambord Potter Black accept the bond of the house elf Dobby into my families as my and my families elf''.

When Ari had finished this, a blue glow appeared around his hands and Dobby's body before the glow settled into the elf and he was aware that there had been a slight drain on his magic. Dobby stood up straight and looked much healthier, taller and if anything more like a three foot tall version of the elves of Tolkein. Dobby was also more articulate and dressed in a clean dark blue toga with the crest of a Phoenix on it.

''Oh thank you Master Aries I am able to respond now to your needs and unable to tell anyone the Families' secrets. It is a great honour to serve such a great and powerful wizard as Master Aries''. With that he popped out and Ari looked questioningly at Phineas, who responded with ''later Aries, take your potions, eat your dinner and I will finish this tale before you sleep.''

''If you wouldn't mind Lady Hogwarts, could you initiate the 'time distortion' function of the room and lock it down''.

Ari questioned ''Time distortion?''

''Yes basically we have stepped out of the existing time flow you will spend 3 years of time in this room, while even with time alowed to recharge the room only around 18 hours of actual time will have passed.''

Seeing the confused look on Ari's face he continued ''If someone managed to open the door whilst you are in here, all they would see is a white blur, but if you looked at them outside the room, they would look how a fly trapped in Amber does.''

''Oh'' was all a still slightly confused Aries said at this explanation.

''Now to continue'' Phineas resumed ''After graduation your parents moved to Potter Croft Castle. The whole estate for about 3 square miles is surrounded by layers of wards going back to Merlin's time. No one and I mean no one, not even me knows its exact location. There is a far smaller known but still heavily warded Manor which is in Brockhampton on the Hereford and Worcester border and appeared abandoned after your Grandfathers death. James also let it be 'known' that they would be living at another home so that Voldemort would have no reason to attack his estate.'' He smirked after he told Ari this and said 'The Potters paranoia would do Slytherin proud…..mmm…. shame every last one of them was a dammed Griffindor''.

''After you were born and Louis an Angelique's death they moved to Bordeaux to Lily's estate. They were even safer here from the war. People were still not aware of Lily's real name and heritage.''

''It is now young Aries that Albus' role in your life is defined. Albus had told your parents that there had been a 'Prophesy' made, regarding the 'one born as the seventh month dies who would destroy the Dark Lord'. Don't worry about the words, it's a fake, made up by Albus and 'fed' to a spy to be reported to Voldemort who believed it implicitly''.

''Now Albus had pointed the Dark Lord directly at your family. His plan was to have Voldemort kill your parents in a location he controlled where he would be waiting to destroy Voldemort himself, thus becoming the great hero and defeater of another Dark Lord.'' Phineas paused to consider and take a sip of his drink, which Ari now took a closer look at and surmised it was actually brandy.

Continuing again ''Albus called an order meeting at a house he owned in his home village of Godrics Hollow, on the night of 31st October 1981. He was aware that Peter Pettigrew was a death eater and used a compulsion charm on him to inform Voldemort that this house was actually where you had been living. With this he had all of the wheels in motion for his trap''.

''All members of the order had a Phoenix pendant that apparently warmed to tell them of meetings and act as a portkey to take them to the location. On this night James and Lily's charms activated but Sirius didn't, however, since this is Sirius we are talking about, he went anyway. I must tell you Aries the three had not been apart from each other and you since your birth. So with Lily taking you and James holding onto Sirius they activated the portkeys.''

''James and Lily arrived at the house, Sirius had been bounced off the wards and was knocked unconscious outside the boundary of the house. Before James and Lily could orientate themselves and take in the situation, the door blew off the house and Voldemort arrived'' Phineas looked sadly at Aries and said ''I believe you remembered this year what happened next''.

Ari gave a harsh snot and said ''Yes the Dementor's were good for one thing, I did remember my parents last words and I do not want to relive them if you don't mind''.

Phineas nodded in understanding and said ''Ok back to the aftermath, the plan did not go exactly as Albus had wished, he was not the one to destroy Voldemort, you were, he had been delayed by rubble left by James' fight and had not expected Lily to take you to another area of the house. In fact she would have gotten away if that bastard Dumbledore had not blood warded the windows of the house. She had a shrunken broom in her pocket and would have easily got away…(hmf, sigh) unfortunately that was not possible in the time she had. Anyway Albus arrived just as you re-bounded the curse back at Voldemort''.

''He then vanished Voldemorts body leaving only his robe and wand''.

''After this he called Hagrid to take you to the Dursley's and in the next 2 hours framed Sirius. All of the actions attributed to Sirius with regard to the muggles and Pettigrew where actually a Polyjuiced Albus. With this it was easy given his position to have Sirius carted off to Azkaban without a trial. I do believe Sirius was actually not in his right mind when he was revived, the first thing he would have been aware of was the absence of his bond with James and Lily, truthfully two thirds of his soul was killed that All Hallows Eve.''

Phineas stopped talking and looked at Aries sadly, the young teen was on his knees rocking and sobbing, heart wrenching cries coming from him as he mourned all three of his parents and the loss of what should have been, if it hadn't been for two corrupt power obsessed old men.

After a while when his sobs had reduced to soft whimpers while he lay curled up on the floor, Phineas spoke again ''I think we will end there young Aries, I think you need some rest before we start you on the path to correct the lost century and a half of Dumbledore corruption, manipulation, lies, misinformation and censorship. We will also correct the damage he has done to you personally'' Phineas smirked slightly before saying ''Not, the least of which is the binding that makes you look like a caricature of a young James.''

''If you would Lady Hogwarts, I believe our young heir requires an apartment and if you could add a Dreamless Sleep potion, to the Strengthening, Nutrition, Phoenix and Corrective potions…..ah… thank you lady.'' As the potions appeared in front of Aries ''Now Aries wash up take all of the potions and go to bed. Your new life starts tomorrow, your life as a Lord of the Grey''.

Too exhausted to reply Ari complied and 10 minutes later was deeply asleep in his new king sized bed being watched over by Phineas Nigellus Black- the Guardian of the Black Family and Lady Hogwarts the guardian of her Founders Legacy and its Heirs.

_Note:** see Croft Castle in the same place as here. It really is a beautiful place and it's a great part of the world to visit._


	3. Chapter 3

**Rise of the Grey Lords. Chapter 3 (edited 25****th**** January 2012)**

**Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world. **

_Thank you again for reading this story, I hope answered the questions raised in the first Chapter in chapter 2, please let me know if there are still glaring gaps. Thanks again._

_Lynn_

Chapter 3; Room of Requirement, Early Afternoon May 14th 1994

Room Time; morning Day 1

Harry James Potter or was it Aries Jamille Chambord-Potter-Black was woken from the best sleep he'd had since his first encounter with a Dementor's, by the soft ringing of bell.

As he automatically groped for where his bedside table was and his glasses, his cognitive abilities began to process the information his senses were sending that this was not the Griffindor 3rd year boys' dorm, or indeed his second bed in the hospital wing. It was too quiet for the first and didn't have the bright glare and 'clean' smell of the second. He had just found his specs when everything that had happened yesterday, everything that he had witnessed and learned came rushing to the forefront of his mind.

He had learned yesterday, that almost everything he had been told since coming into the Wizarding world was a lie, almost all of his relationships and interactions had been manipulated and/or controlled by Dumbledick and his agents. He had learned that the Old Coot had caused the death of his parents all three of them and was going to kill him as well, in just a few years.

Oh and he wasn't little Harry Potter, oh no he was Aries Jamille Chambord-Potter-Black or was that Black-Potter, mmm no the first sounded better. Not only this, but he really was a freak or at least unique. His mother had genetically engineered him so he had two full fathers and the magic and power of three families. If that wasn't enough he was a Duke no Duc and an Earl twice or was that thrice over. Oh and a picture of his Great, Great Grandfather had spoken to someone called Lady Hogwarts and he was her Heir as well. Bloody hell, how was he going to deal with all this.

He felt wrung out and empty emotionally, this was not surprising really. Last night was the first time he had cried since he was 4 and was the first time he had mourned for his parents. It was a strangely liberating feeling and he now felt that he could put his childhood yearning away, after all that's what he was really mourning the loss of his childhood. Now he felt a faint glimmer oh hope, there were people apparently who cared about him. Before his thoughts could go any further he heard the voice he had listened to for so many hours yesterday.

''Ah good morning young Aries'' called Phineas Black. ''Up you get we have no time to waste, you have 10 minutes to get presentable before your breakfast arrives and we can start working through my lists of things we have to cover before we can get you on your way home….. well….don't just lie there too much to do in too little time''.

Aries groaned and shuffled his way to where he remembered the bathroom being last night. After completing his morning routine and giving the birds nest on his head one more half hearted brush he turned to find his old hand me down clothes missing and what appeared to be new black soft leather slip on shoes, silk boxers, socks, dark grey dress trousers, white long sleeved shirt and pale grey soft wool jumper.

He had to admit not only did they fit, they were the most comfortable clothes he had ever worn and he actually admitted he looked good. Mm, perhaps Malfoy (or was it going to be Draco now) had a point.

Having taken 5 minutes longer than he was told to, he rushed out of the bedroom to where he now remembered the sitting room being last night. To the left there was a sitting area and to the right there was a dinning table with a full breakfast, 5 potions and a house elf he did not recognise.

As he sat down at the table, he saw Phineas appear in the picture frame opposite. Before he could sat anything Phineas spoke ''Now Aries, we have a lot to cover and I know you have a lot of questions you want to ask but there are a couple of important things I need to tell you before we start. The first is that Hogwarts or the Lady as we Portraits, the elves, ghosts and guardians refer to her, is a semi-sentient entity, who is able to communicate with those of us who serve her and visa versa''.

''She was infused with the Founders magic and so could be seen as a representation of them. She recognises you as her Primary Heir with the blood and magic of both Godric and Salazar. Because of this she will aid us our pursuits. Particularly, by allowing us the full use of this wonderful room and its resources.''

'This is the Heart of Hogwarts and has a concentration of magic. It is also called the room of requirement in that it can change to meet the needs of the person using it. Now at the moment this room is in a 'Time Distortion' state. That means that time is almost standing still. There are limitations to this however, whilst you will not age whilst you are in here, it does put a certain strain amount of strain on you. Therefore, we will be spending a maximum of 3 years room time here and we will be de-activating the time distortion for two hours for every year spent here, to allow to room to recharge from the very heavy usage of its magic that will take place.'' He stopped for a second and then ''You have a lot to learn in that time Aries it will need your total commitment and maximum effort to achieve everything you need to, it is essential for you to come to terms with that very quickly as we will not have time and I do not have the patience any more to deal with teenage angst. Do you understand what I am asking you to do?''

Aries nodded and said ''Yes Sir, I can do it, I must do it.''

Phineas smiled a genuine smile at that and said ''Excellent, now the Lady, will reactivate the time distortion in two hour's time, during that time we can received things from outside Hogwarts so, is there anything you need Briggs here'' pointing to the elf ''to get from outside Hogwarts other than your Gringotts and Hottinger account ledgers? Oh clothes are not an issue Dobby has already taken care of that problem as you have seen''

Harry thought for a moment and said ''Honeydukes, supplies would be nice and what is a Hottinger?''

Phineas laughed and replied ''Treats will be provided by the room on my direction. Hottinger's is your main bank for the Black and Potter fortunes and the only bank for the Chambord family, it is in Zurich Switzerland and is run by Gnomes. They deal with the vast majority of European wizards and the astute British ones. The Gnomes are much better and more trustworthy than Goblins to deal with, also incorruptible unlike the Goblins who can be bribed with enough gold'', ''Those also authorised the full inter-bank transfer of all remaining contents of the Gringotts Potter and Black Vaults to go to Hottingers. Except your trust vault which is to revert to Blood Access only.''

Aries took this in and said ''In that case no I don't need anything... except.. mmm.. is my broom here?'' Getting an affirmative nod from Phineas, he confirmed ''No I don't need anything.''

''Fine'' Phineas replied ''if you could just sign the letters authorising Briggs here'' pointing at the elf ''to have the Ledgers and then add a drop of blood to all three letters''.

Aries did this, after which Phineas instructed ''Put your wand on each of the letters and say the spell Familias and the name of the family, for the 3 individual families and I forgot, I checked while you were asleep, add the Peverall family, it appears James was also Lord Peverall, Earl of Radnor from the sole heiress of that family marrying into the Potters in the mid 1740s''.

This took Ari about 10 minutes, before he sealed the letters and handed them to the elf with a thank you.

Phineas said nothing else so he settled down to breakfast after the potions although he did notice he seemed to have a better appetite and was eating far more that usual.

Ari got up after he had finished eating and walked to the sitting area with a glass of iced water and a cup of creamy coffee, whilst Phineas moves to the portrait there.

Sitting down he took a deep breath and started ''What are the potions I am taking for and by the way how should I address you if we are going to be together every day?''

''Right a good place to begin, the Lady scanned you when you arrived in the room and Dobby confirmed following the bonding that you have a number of problems from various sources. These were mainly caused by Albus and the muggles. To begin with Albus; a very dark curse on your scar which acts as a block on your mental capabilities and is responsible for the scar not healing and your poor eye sight. James only wore glasses occasionally because they were enchanted and he hsd perfect eye sight''.

''Mmm continuing, 2 blocks on your magical core restricting your power level and magical endurance, another dark charm altering your looks, a block on your physical development keeping you much smaller and shorter than you should be even with your poor early diet, 2 tracking charms one of which is tied to your blood another to your magical signature, loyalty charms keyed to Albus, his granddaughter and the Weasley's, an aversion charm keyed to the Malfoy blood, an avoidance charm keyed to the Bones, Longbottom and Greengrass blood. How did I forget the Greengrass' they have been friends and allies of the Potters for centuries and Jonathan and Celia were very good friends of your parents, Celia together with Alice and Narcissa were your mothers best friends... Carrying on there is more, there are numerous memory charms and an abilities block. We will get back to these later.''

''Now from the filthy muggles we have malnutrition, numerous scars indicative of a belt, stick and whip'' Phineas stopped and took a drink from the ever-present glass.

''If I was alive I would be using some of the curses that were banned before there even was a ministry. Hmf …. to continue, 34 badly or partially healed bones from fractures before the age of 11 and finally a scar on the brain caused from a fractured skull''.

''Oh and one animagus block placed by Lily when you thought it was fun to copy Sirius and James and at 8 months turned into a rather large Panther cub.' Phineas chuckled and continued ''After a week of you sharpening your claws on the furniture she had had enough and cast the block.''

Ari's eyes opened wide at this ''So I'm an animagus?''

''Yes a rather beautiful black panther with emerald green eyes. You will be able transform again soon. If I might continue?''

''Now to address the easy ones the nutritional, strengthening and phoenix potions are to correct the malnutrition issues. The Phoenix Elixir also together with the corrective potions is to heal the scaring and old fractures. The last potion that you had this morning is very special and only really available in this room because of its rare ingredients and the fact it is an Alchemical potion created by Nicholas Flamel . It is the Cleansing Elixir, it will over the course of 3 months remove all of the foreign magic from your body this means every curse, charm, hex, binding or memory block whatever its source will be gone in 3 months of room time. There are other potions that do similar but they would not work on the dark curses and blood linked charms''.

He saw the frown deepening on Aries face and said in a softer almost coaxing voice.

''We have to do it this way Aries, any sudden removal of some of those curses and charms would kill you and likely blow up the castle, also there is no way that your current body would be able to deal with the level of magic you would have if the bindings were suddenly released. It could rupture your core reducing you to a squib.'' He continued with a vindictive look in his eye and a sneer ''Don't worry little one you will make Albus pay for this.''

''As for how you will address me call me Grandfather. It is after all what I am to you even with a couple of Greats thrown in.''

With a slight smirk Ari replied ''Ok Granddad''.

A sigh and quiet mutter about damned Potter blood could be heard, which Ari ignored.

''Now I have decided what we need to cover for your education before you go to

Châteaux Chambord in 3 years and 14 hours time.''

''Lady if you would be so kind?''

At that a standard school timetable appeared on the wall to the left of Phineas' portrait;

Daily Routine 6 day week 24 hour day

06:30 Get up

07:00- 08:00 Physical Exercise

08:00- 08:30 Ablutions

08:30- 09:00 Breakfast

09:00- 11:00: Days 1 and 4 Charms

2 and 5 Transfiguration

3 and 6 Offensive and Defensive Arts

11:00-13:00; Days 1 and 4 Etiquette and Customs (including lunch)

2 and 5 Politics and Laws

3 and 6 Financial and Estate Management

13:00- 15:00; Days 1 and 4 Runes

2 and 5 Arithmacy

3 and 6 Potions

15:30-16:00; Afternoon Refreshments

16:00- 17:00; Days 1 and 4 Alchemy

2 and 5 History

3 and 6 Duelling

17:00-18:00; Days 1and 4 Wards and Warding

2 and 5 Eastern Arts of Combat

3 and 6 Ritual Magic and Family Magic

18:00-19:00; Dinner

19:00- 21:00; Rest and Relaxation

21:30; Lights out

Day 7 Free except physical exercise must be done before breakfast

Lunch, Dinner and Lights out as before

''As you can see Aries you will be very busy for the next 3 years. I have kept the week and day lengths the same to prevent disorientation. At the end of the first year you will be able to take and pass your OWLS with Outstanding in all the OWL subject above.''

''For obvious reasons Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology will have to wait until you can work with your own Beast and Herbology Masters the former at the Potter Estate and the latter at the Chambord estate. Although, from what I understand, both could be done at either estate if you need to.''

''Now by the end of Year 2 you will be at the same level for your NEWTS though you will not be doing Astronomy at this level. God knows why Albus swapped this with Runes as a core subject. Runes are far more important to the Magical Community.''

''Humf… you will do OWL's in; Charms, Transfiguration, DADA, Potions, Ancient Runes, Arithmacy, History and Astronomy''.

''At the end of Year Two you will be at NEWT level in all of those subjects except Astronomy which we will drop and in Year Three you will study 4 subjects that we will choose between us, with a view to gaining a Mastery in those subjects by the time of your 15th birthday.''

Ari was quiet for a while taking in everything his Grandfather had just told him, he was studying the schedule and noticed there was a good split of classes which would not over tax his magic or his physical stamina whilst breaking up the 'dry' subjects like Politics and Etiquette. Mmm all in all not bad and the day was manageable he had been doing much more than that since last November.

Given that he said ''I think it will be OK Granddad, since I stole the Know it all or as I prefer to think of her Bushy Beavers time turner in November I've been doing an extra 6 hours a day anyway.''

Phineas roared with laughter at this ''You were the one responsible for that. Albus shouted at her for an hour about carelessness to loose such a valuable family heirloom'' still chuckling he asked ''What were you doing with all the extra time?'' and received the best news yet.

''Well I was in the chamber, rendering down the basilisk and storing the useful bits. Then I was studying all the subjects you want me to do here except History and Astronomy. I'm fine at Astronomy I read a lot of muggle books on it when I was hiding from Dudley and as for History. I don't even try listening to Binns, do you think there's a charm on him to send us to sleep? I do my own studying during the class. So I reckon I could probably get E's and O's in my OWL's if I took them now.'' he concluded with a definite Slytherin smirk on his face.

Phineas looked mildly surprised and smugly proud when he looked at Aries ''You are definitely your parent's son he said. A Potter-Black to the core.''

He seemed to be thinking before continuing ''Right for the rest of today and tomorrow, you will be doing last year's OWL tests in; Charms, Transfiguration, DADA, Potions, Ancient Runes, Arithmacy, History and Astronomy''.

''Through the door to our left is a training room that we will be using I will be able to manifest physically whilst in that room.'' He paused ''If you pass these, you will be able to do this year's tests in 3 to 6 months room time''.

At Aries confused look, he clarified ''The Lady will ensure that your tests are marked with the rest of this years candidates. This is always an anonymous process and practical examiners are bound by secrecy not to disclose test performances, this will explain why the examiners do not remember you taking the tests if they are questioned later when your results get out and they will because of who you are.''

''Magic will record your exam results and attribute them to you and magic sends out the results to students. This is all done by your magical signature, this way no one can cheat as you cannot duplicate another persons magic, even, identical twins are different. We will also be doing this with your NEWT examinations. It's often done for students who are in Apprenticeships to take OWL's and NEWT's early. Also though rare in this era, students in your situation can accelerate their schooling so that they can take on their familial duties and responsibilities.''

''Doing this takes away any possible chance that people like Albus or Fudge and his ilk can stop your gaining your legal emancipation and Head of House status because any wizard who successfully completes his NEWTS is considered fully qualified to take on adult responsibilities and therefore, is treated as an adult.''

He stopped then as the elf Briggs popped back into the room with a bag almost as big as him clasped in his arms.

''Ah thank you Briggs did you encounter any problems?''

''No Master Headmaster Black, Gringotts not be happy with Headmaster Dumbles he should have given Master Aries the Potter books 3 years ago, when he took them, they had to call them back from Dumbles to send to Master Aries and he has been asking after the Black's books today. No Gringotts not be happy with Dumbles.''

Aries snickered ''Thank you for that Briggs, unless Master Black needs you to do anything you may go''.

Phineas responded '' Return to your duties Briggs, you can start preparing the Black Plantation for Lord Potter-Black to visit soon and take Blackstock Park** out of stasis ready for its new Lord.''

With a low bow to both of them Briggs popped out again and a click was heard and a calendar appeared on the wall marked Year One, Week One, day 1.

''Right Aries time to begin up and at it my lad.''

Ari finished his coffee and iced water and after a quick trip to relieve the sudden hydrostatic pressure on his bladder (suddenly needed to pee), he walked into the room to find it set up as a classroom with a desk on which was ink, parchment and a quill, after sitting at the desk his Grandfather appeared in 'the flesh' so to speak and sat behind a desk at the front of the room in his full Slytherin regalia.

Ari had to admit he was a good looking old bugger, with an air of elegance, grace and assurance about him. Yes he would aspire to that; his Grandfather would be his role model.

A paper appeared on his desk and Phineas spoke 'This is your Arithmacy paper, it is now 1 minute to 10 am you have until midday to complete it, begin.

That's how the day went;

1000 Arithmacy

1200 Lunch

1230 Charms theory

1330 Charms practical

1430 History of Magic

1630 Afternoon tea

1700 Transfiguration theory

1800 Transfiguration practical

1900 Dinner

He nearly fell asleep whilst eating dinner he had used a lot of magic in two wanded tests he had done and he had a slight head ache. Phineas was back in his portrait and said ''You did well today Aries. I suggest after you have finished dinner and taken your potions you have a relaxing bath and go to bed. I want to start at 0800 tomorrow, the Lady informs me she can produce the creatures you would be tested on for the care of magical creature OWL within the training room so that means you will have 5 tests tomorrow.''

''Fine Granddad, but will this get easier as the potions get rid of the blocks? Otherwise I'm going to be struggling training as hard as I need to day in day out?''

''Of course Aries, you should start noticing a difference in a month at the most, I believe it will be the mental block going that you notice first then a gradual increase in your power both magical and physical over the following month with a much larger increase in the final month. Expect something of a growth spurt starting in a couple of weeks and then accelerating till you're where you should be in all area.''

Aries yawned again and said ''Thanks Granddad, that bath and bed sound good…. See you in the morning''.

The next day Aries was up 0630 feeling well rested from 10 full hours of sleep. After a leisurely hot show and a few stretches to get his blood pumping, he dressed similarly to yesterday although his jumper was a deep red today. He was now used to things appearing as he needed them

He strolled into the dinning room, after grabbing his potions robe now fully awake. He sat down and took the potions quickly; he was used to them now after all he was taking them with every meal and before bed.

He looked up as Phineas appeared in his portrait ''Good morning Grandfather, how are you today and how did I do on the tests.''

Phineas smirked ''I am well thank you Aries, such activity I almost feel alive again…. Ah well.. yes the tests lets see.''

The results suddenly appeared on a chart next to the timetable;

Trial OWL's 

Arithmacy; = O

Charms; theory E, Practical O, Combined = O

History; E

Transfiguration; Theory E, Practical O, Combined=O

''As I expected the mental block is a particularly strong one which explains why you are weak on theory, I wonder why it didn't affect your Arithmacy as much?''

''I was always extremely good at maths at junior school'' Ari supplied.

''Ha that would explain it. Whereas, you are far too powerful for even the prisoner block Albus has on you to affect your practical work. Although you do have to put more effort into spell casting than you should and it does tire you''.

''Now eat your breakfast you have 30 minutes before we start again''.

The Day went very similar to the previous one;

0800-1000 Ancient Runes

1000-1100 Potions Theory

1100-1130 Morning tea

1130-1230 Potions Practical

1230-1330 DADA Theory

1330-1400 Lunch

1400-1500 DADA Practical

1500-1600 C of M theory

1600-1630 Afternoon break

1630-1730 C of M Practical

1730-1900 Astronomy

1900 Dinner

Aries sat down with a big sigh at the dinning table and said ''I'm glad that's over until I get my full capabilities back.''

''You did well my lad'' Phineas replied ''I suggest that you do the same as yesterday you will have an early start tomorrow. If its any consolation, none of your other test schedules will affect you as this one did, by the time of your actual OWL's you will be curse and charm free.'' Phineas gave a small nod of his head and said ''Goodnight Lord Aries''.

Ari who had just stood up looked up a bit startled but responded with a bow from the waist and ''I wish you the same Lord Black''.

…

_AN: Shorter than the 2 previous chapters, but it was logical to stop here. If I have left any great holes in the plot could you please let me know._

_** See Weston Park another great place to visit._

_Thank you for reading_


	4. Chapter 4

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 4 (edited 26th January)**

**Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world. **

_AN:This chapter will be moving much quicker that the previous 2 covering all 3 room years, with some key points and setting the scene for the action._

_**Editing has changed some things here slightly, mainly I have eliminated some central allied characters ie. Shacklebolt, Patils and Davis'. Was getting bogged down with them. Sorry chemotherapy side effects are affecting the brain.**_

_**Thanks for reading and your feedback.**_

Chapter 4: Hogwarts inside RoR 0630 Day 365, Year 3, Room Time

4am Greenwich Time on 15th May 1994 

Lord Aries Potter-Black, rolled out of his bed in the Room of Requirements of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was the last day of the three years he had spent in 'Time Distortion' being trained his Black Family Guardian and his ancestor, Phineas Nigellus Black.

He had been in the room for 18 hours of actual time, not even a day but so much had changed. He had finished packing his belongings in his new multi-compartment trunk. Dobby had taken his old one back to the dorm at the beginning of the first Time Distortion, fortunately Ron had not been back and was at Lunch. It would not do for it to have been missed.

He had removed everything of value and transfigured replacements for the things he had taken. The only problem he had was replicating his broom, it had been a bitch. He smirked at the thought and hoped the Weasel tried to use it. He would definitely be visiting the hospital wing if he did.

When his elf Dobby had popped him here 18 hours ago he was an angry, ill-advised, scrawny, undersized, be-spectacled, malnourished 13 year old 3rd year student and a mess, physically, emotionally and magically.

It had taken 3 months of an intensive and unique potions regime to undo all of harm done to him over the preceding 12 years. He bore very little resemblance to how he had been. He was now a shade over 5ft 7in and a solid 10st 5lb with sleek defined, but not bulky muscles, rather like a boxer or gymnast, given his broad shoulders and powerful gluteous maximus and legs (yep the girls would be looking at his ass even more than they used to).

His hair lay on his head in gentle waves, which naturally fell just over his ears to just touch the top of his shoulders, he had however, used a growth charm on it in deference to his father Sirius, with the result it now fell in soft waves over his shoulders to between his shoulder blades. It definately grew slower in the time distortion, than if actual time had passed.

His previously defining scar was now almost a memory, looking like any normal well healed 12 year old injury would, just a very faint white line. His eyes, without the ugly glasses were clearly almond shaped, framed by long thick black eyelashes exactly like his mothers and appeared even larger and brighter than they had before.

His cheekbones were higher and his chin well defined whilst still appearing quite delicate. All this, together with the general shape of his face gave him a much more refined and aristocratic look, that was pure Black. His mouth however was pure James Potter, right down to the crooked smile. Add to this Lily's straight nose and high arching eyebrows and it made him a very, good looking young man. He scowled and swore the first person who called him pretty would get decked (he hadn't acknowledged Phin for 2 days when he called him 'that').

Even with the physical changes he would have been recognisable as Harry Potter if not for his overall change in demeanour.

Now, Snape would be justified in calling him arrogant. His stance and the way he held himself was pure James. When he moved however, it was like seeing a more refined Sirius he was graceful, with a hint of lethal power waiting to be unleashed and he appeared to glide as he walked exactly like his amimagus of the panther. Add to this a precision and economy of movement that was pure Lily and he was the perfect blending of his 3 parents. It was like Lily had removed every imperfection from her son and left pure magic. In summary Lord Aries Potter-Black was the epitome of the ultimate young Pure-blood wizard.

His magical training had gone very well over the last three years. He was now magically stronger than Dumblebore, but he admitted no where near the knowledge or experience of the old bastard.

He had taken all of his OWL's in all his subjects except Herbology, at the end of 3 months and passed well according to his instructor.

Phineas' plan was amended after his OWL's and the study of occulemency and leglimency were added. He was now highly competent at the former when practising against simulated opponents but not as advanced at the latter. He would need a lot more practice with a real instructor, which would be difficult as it was not only illegal to learn but could get you sent to Azkaban if you were caught performing it.

He had passed all of his NEWT's and would be able to take his Mastery's in Ancient, Runes and DADA as soon as he wanted to. He was also nearly ready to take his Warding and Potions Mastery by his 15th birthday next year. He would love to see Snapes' face when he heard that news, perhaps he could pay someone for the pensive memory. Not bad going if he did say so himself. He was also able to use some wandless magic, but found it was not as strong and took a lot more power than using a wand or a magical focus.

That brought him onto another memory. He had acquired some unplanned knowledge of wand making and magical foci when it was found that his old wand was not able to cope with his new unbound magic.

This had led to almost a year of study and work even with his improved mental capabilities. In the end he crafted a rather nice wand from Sweet Chestnut which had practically leapt into his hand, it was quite beautiful actually. A rich golden colour, 12 and an quarter inches long, with the handle bound in a rhodium or mithril as it was called sleeve. It had a large rather rare alexantrite (one of a pair found in his Chamord vault) embedded in the metal acting as a focus stone. It was finished off with runes engraved in a spiral around its length. His wand was quite beautiful and very powerful.

The cores did create some problems, the basilisk heart string soaked in venom worked, as did the male unicorn tail hair soaked in freely given blood but it wasn't quite right. It was when he was about to admit defeat and asked Lady Hogwarts directly for help, that Polaris, (Godric's Phoenix erroneously called Fawkes) flamed into the room and gave him a tail and 4 pinion feathers, all soaked in phoenix tears. The three combined made the perfect wand for him; the dark basilisk, the light unicorn and the phoenix balancing the other two, especially with the addition of his own blood so it could never be used by another and would always return to him.

Because of the success with his wand Ari (as he now thought of himself) made a magical focus; a band/cuff that fit on his forearm of rhodium, this metal practically hummed for him whilst others like silver were inert. He used similar components to those in his wand; using one of Pol's pinion feathers and a mane hair of a unicorn foal, freely given of course, together with basilisk scale soaked in its blood. Again he added his own blood to bind it to him and perfect the balance. It was an achievement he was proud of, especially the runes carving which were done in a Lily design along the edges and the second of the pair of 6ct Russian Alexandrites, these were only noticeable as runes under very close examination. It was a very beautiful yet masculine piece of jewellery and under current British law totally illegal to buy, but not to own. It would however, get him his his Runes and Magical Crafter Masteries when he chose to take them.

He now had an overview of Alchemy, but, it didn't really interest him so it would stay at that. He was very knowledgeable about and quite skilled at rituals having performed quite a lot of them and he knew and could perform all of his families' rituals.

His duelling skills far exceeded Aurors and Hit Wizards. However, he still had a lot of work to do to reach the Unspeakables level. The Eastern Martial arts, was also an area he would need to continue his training. He would have to find a Sensei in Aikido and Jujitsu when he was settled at his new home. It was one of the areas of his training he enjoyed the most.

He now knew he was a very, very wealthy young man. He was in fact stinking rich with investments all over the world, diversified in all areas from new computer's, software and games to shipping, mining, butterbeer manufacture and Quality Quidditch Supplies.

He was also 28 million galleons poorer than he should have been. Dumblebore had been emptying his trust account every year since James and Lily died and had repeatedly been trying to gain access to the main Potter accounts, by using his position of Ministry appointed magical guardian. He would be paying for that very soon. As would the Weasels. They had received 10 million galleons in Bride Price for Ginevra as a Consort for House Potter. As if that would ever happen.

He had 4 major estates; The Blackstock Plantation on a private warded island near Barbuda in the Caribbean, Potter Croft Castle, Leominster, Herefordshire, Blackstock Park, Shifnal, Shropshire and Châteaux Chambord in Lamarque, Bordeaux. As well as other smaller estates, town houses and holiday homes.

He now knew the ins and outs of the management, preservation and betterment of the legacy left to him by his parents.

But, by far his biggest increase in knowledge had been in the areas of Wizarding etiquette, politics', law and customs. To him Christmas was now Yule, May Day was Beltane and the most important, Halloween was Samhain. This was the way he would now live his life he was a wizard the last direct descendant of 4 Ancient and Noble Family's and he was proud of his heritage. He had missed Beltane but he would make sure to celebrate Lithia the Summer Solstice in just over 2 months time followed by Mabon the Autumn equinox, signifying the end of the harvest.

Yes he could now understand the Wizarding worlds' attitude to some muggle-borns, this very small minority of a minority sneered at our world and rather than learn and join the society they had been invited into. They wanted to change the millennia old customs of the majority to the superficial and chaotic norms of the muggle world. Fully supported by Dumbledump! What was he playing at?

Aries Potter-Black now understood power in all its forms and how to use it be it; financial, economic, knowledge, information, personal or magical strength.

No he wasn't the same naïve young boy, who thought everything was black or white. Where black was dark and evil and white was light and good. Both of these sides were intolerant to anyone who did not agree with them and quite prepared to go to any lengths to achieve their own respective utopia's'.

He was in between he was Grey and neutral, he did not agree with the dark supremacists or the dogmatic light collectivists. He knew that there were others who held the same views and aims that he did and he would be contacting some of them soon.

With one last check that he had everything, Ari shrunk his trunk and attached it to the special chain around his neck. He quickly checked his appearance in the mirror before adjusting his robes, putting on his travelling cloak and calling Dobby.

Dobby, popped in just a moment later holding a very disgruntled Hedwig in her cage. His beautiful owl was not happy, she had always hated being in a cage but there was no help for it until he could put the family seal on her leg she would not be able to get through the wards of where they were going.

With a final 'Thank you Lady Hogwarts' he left the room for the first time in 3 years and 18 and a half hours.

Hogwarts 7th Floor corridor 0410 15th May1994

Ari made sure that he had covered both Dobby and himself with the invisibility cloak andcast a very strong disillusionment charm and silencing charm over them. The only wayout of Hogwarts was to walk.

With marauders map activated the unusual group made their way carefully down to the 3rd flood of the castle and entered the secret tunnel in the one eyed witch. Staying invisible and careful they passed under the wards of the castle. At the point he left the Hogwarts wards Dobby held onto him and popped them both away.

This was it he had escaped the 'Murdering Old Bastard' as he now thought of him he was free to live.

Chateaux Chambord, Lamarque, France 0550 CET 51Mai 1994

Ari became aware of his surroundings as Dobby released him; he was standing in front of a flight of shallow stone steps leading to a pair of huge double doors with his Chambord family crest on them. He assumed he was standing on the west side of the house as he was in shadow at the moment and the sky was lightening over the roof. He looked at his mothers' home for the first time he remembered and saw four floors of the high arched windows with a final floor of smaller arched windows, leading to a soft grey tiled roof.

It was about 50 metres (164 feet) wide and built of a pale grey stone that had veins of gold and cream running through it. He took a couple of steps back taking in the fact that two wings came out either side to the north and south about the same length as the central expanse. The large windows with their small individual panes of glass were painted a rich cream colour and where the sun was beginning to hit them they sparkled like they were covered in diamond dust. All he could say was 'Sweet Merlin and Morgana'.

Before he could take in any more details, he saw an older elf in front of him, dressed in the same style as Dobby in a dark blue toga with Phoenix crest.

''Welcome home Monseigneur Aries'' he said in a squeaky voice ''I be Jules the Chambord Family Head-elf if yous will enter we can be setting the wards to Monseigneur le Duc.''

Without thinking Ari walked towards the steps. As he got closer to the house he began to experience a feeling that he was home. It was the first time he had ever felt that he was somewhere he belonged. With this came the overriding sensation of peace and dare he say love. His magic seemed to be humming in contentment and lazily swirling around him. As he walked through the doors he could have sworn he heard a soft whisper almost like a caress say 'Welcome home my son.'' Yes'' Aries whispered in return ''I am, home''.

The next moment he had followed Jules into the entrance hall and looked about him. His jaw dropped so low it was almost dislocated and all he could say was ''BLOODY HELL!''.

The hall was at least twice as large as the Hogwarts entrance with a central grand staircase branching off to each wing of the house. The whole room from the floor to the ceiling above was panelled in shades of cream marble, veined with gold and grey and decorated in a baroque style. The entire ceiling appeared to reflect the sky outside just like Hogwarts and a huge gold and crystal chandelier hung down to well above head height.

Ari's next words were ''This place is a bloody palace'' and quite seriously asked ''Am I in Versailles''.

Jules gave a wheezy chuckle and said ''Non Monseigneur Aries, but Master James asked mes that when he first came.'' Jules chuckled again before saying ''Chateaux Chambord was built 60 years before Versailles. They be copying from the family, but helas without our plumbing''.

Aries decided not to think about it now, he estimated he only had about 24 hours at the outside to get a lot of things done before the panic button was hit at Hogwarts and they confirmed that he had left.

So taking a deep breath he got his balance and said ''Jules do you have to be bound to me personally or is your familial bond sufficient?''

Jules looked up with wide tears in eyes and said ''You want Jules?''

''Of course'' Ari replied getting down on one knee and taking the old elf's hand ''who else will manage the staff and teach me about the house and the estate if not you?''

Tears now spilled from Jules' eyes and he said ''Oui, oui Monseigneur je.. I would be honoured to serve a powerful young Master again it like I have Demoiselle Liliane again.'' At that his tears flowed.

Ari took his hands and stood up doing the same binding as Dobby but as head elf of Chambord.

After that it was an ecstatic and newly invigorated elf who took him to the ward room to renew the Blood wards and bind them to him.

After asking Jules to show him to his study he got all of his pre written letters and had them delivered by some of the other house elves to his possible allies; The Malfoys, Bones, Delacours, Longbottoms, Goldsteins, Greengrass', Lovegoods, Parkinsons, Abbots and Douglass-Zabinis. All of them good friends of his parents, not allied with Dumblebore and according to Phineas trustworthy.

By the time this task was done and the portrait of Phineas on the wall in the study it was 8am, so with Jules leading the way he went to eat breakfast before learning about his new home and preparing to meet his future wives. Yes future wives, hadn't that been a shock to the system. All THREE of them, bloody hell fire.

Corsham Court** or Malfoy Manor as it was now called, Wiltshire. 0630 Sunday 15th May 1994

In a scene that was being mirrored in almost every corner of Britain and an estate in the south of France in Grasse. Lord Lucius Malfoy, Earl of Wiltshire was woken with an apology by his personal elf Dalton.

''I am sorry Master Lucius, I knows yous woulds wants to see this'' the elf held out a letter.

As he turned it over and saw the crest on the seal any idea of leaving it till later left him and he shouted 'CISSA …ARIES…

CHAMBORD… got to get Draco out now CISSA ITS FROM ARIES.'

Lady Narcissa Black Malfoy was woken with a start still red eyed from crying for her cousin and good friend Sirius who had been killed yesterday.

'Luc what is it is it Draco?' getting upset again.

'No, No Cissa' Lucius replied, forcing himself to calm down 'I have an elf delivered letter from your second favourite teenager Lord Aries Jamille Chambord-Potter-Black to be exact.'

'Oh Merlin' was all Cissa could find to say as she began to cry. All Lucius could do was put his arms around her and hold her tight.

About 15 minutes later she quieted and said ''Read the letter Luc.''

Which he did;

_To Lord Lucius Combe -Malfoy, Earl of Wiltshire, Comte De La Rochelle_

_I have under the guidance of my mentor and Guardian of House Black, Lord Phineas Nigellas Black, ascertained the true status of myself and my families. _

_As you are probably aware yesterday morning at 0930, Chief Warlock Dumbledore and Minister of Magic Fudge had my father Lord Sirius Orion Black, Earl of Shropshire, unlawfully executed by Dementor's kiss._

_I wish to invite you, as a honoured and valued member of my family. Together with your wife and bonded Lady Narcissa Black-Malfoy, my Godmother and your Heir Lord Draconis Combe- Malfoy, Viscount Combe to a meeting to discuss our course of action in response to recent events and other matters of family interest._

_This letter is a portkey to one of my family estates where I hope we can meet with others who I have no doubt share our views. These are; The Bones, Delacour, Longbottom, Goldstein, Greengrass, Lovegood, Parkinson, Abbot and Douglass-Zabini families._

_All Blood Laws of Hospitality will apply within the environs of my estate unless breached by an invitee. The meeting will take place at 1800 Central European Time._

_My elf will await any reply you may wish to send prior to the time of the meeting._

_With Respect_

_Lord Aries Jamille Chambord-Peverall-Potter-Black_

_Duc de Bordeaux_

_Earl of Herefordshire and Radnor_

_Earl of Shropshire_

Lucius let out a slight laugh that was answered by a watery giggle from Cissa before both were rolling in laughter.

Lucius eventually pulled himself together and said ''A true snake in lions clothing, just like his parents… right love up I have to contact the others and co-ordinate getting our children out of Hogwarts after lunch. You have a Godson to meet for the first time in 12 and half years.'' He paused and smirked then ''The game has changed the board has been flipped, the white has lost its knight and the grey has joined the battle. Its time to play for keeps.''

With this a day of frenetic activity started at Malfoy Manor.

Hogwarts Great hall; Breakfast 0800 May 15th 1994 

Draco Malfoy sat at the Slytherin table eating breakfast as normally as he could. The topic of gossip at lunch yesterday had been confirmed by dinner. Due to bragging by the Weasel and the Beaver. They had supposedly assisted Professor Snape in capturing Sirius Black, who had been found with a 'confunded' Harry Potter. The head of the Black family had then immediately received the 'Kiss' on the orders of Dumbledore and Fudge.

No body had seen Potter since shortly after he had left the Headmasters office at about 10am yesterday morning. Draco had just looked along the Griffindor table again to confirm Potter was not there when Pansy asked 'Draco does that mean, you're Lord Black now?'

Draco did not want to answer this now but knew Pansy would not shut up about it so despite the frown on Daphne's face and slight shake of her head. He said 'No Potter is, Sirius was his Godfather and his Grandmother was the elder sister of the last Lord Black, Arcturus Black.'

Daphne was now sending death glares at Draco which at the moment he was ignoring but he did go even paler.

When Nott, who was usually a listener not a talker, exclaimed ''Morgana and Merlin, Hereford, Radnor and now Shropshire. That's a lot of power; I'm surprised he hasn't been killed by now to stop him inheriting. Hm where are his rings, shouldn't he….''

Blaise, spoke up in an harsh hiss said ''Shut up Nott don't comment on what you know nothing about. Unfriendly ears are listening''. With Blaise, Draco, Pansy, Daphne and for some inexplicable reason Bones, Abbott and Longbotton glaring at him, he gulped and went back to eating.

As he was about to get up to leave just before 9 o'clock, there was a second flurry of owl's and Draco recognised his fathers eagle owl. That was unusual it was normally his mother who wrote to him. Taking the letter from the owl and giving it a thank you treat, he noticed that Blaise, Daphne, Pansy, Bones, Longbottom, Goldstein, Abbott and Luna Lovegood had also received letters.

He carefully caught the eyes of all the recipients of letters and nodded. None of them had opened their letters he noted. With that he nonchalantly stood up and strolled out of the hall followed by his house mates and in ones and two's by the other recipients of the letters. All headed for the castle grounds in the direction of the greenhouses long known for having a good spot where cross house allies could meet without fear of observation and exposure.

The group met up in the secluded spot behind greenhouse 3 and all looked at Draco. It was Longbottom who asked the question though ''What are you up to Malfoy?''

Draco took a deep breath and said ''I think we should all open our letters don't you Neville''. Causing said boy to start with surprise, Malfoy never called him by his first name in company. Draco continued ''I think we will find they all pretty much say the same.''

As one 9 letters were opened all of the youths felt their family secrecy spells on them.

This was important if their parents invoked family secrecy.

They did all pretty much say the same. Draco's saying;

_Draco _

_Because of recent events it has become apparent that you may in fact will not be safe in you current location._

_I wish you to ensure that all of your possessions that cannot be replaced are packed and you are ready to leave after you have attended lunch. You must be at the Whomping Willow by 1300, when Dalton will meet you, to bring you home._

_Take the utmost care not to be observed and to give the impression that you are still in the castle._

_Your own and ALL our families safety depends on your compliance with and discretion in carrying out the instructions in this letter. Do not disclose or discuss the contents with anyone who you know did not receive a similar letter._

_Your Loving Father_

_Lucius._

_(Do I need to add destroy this letter)_

Draco finished the letter, reading it twice before burning it, about the same time as the others had done the same and asked ''Well?''

All of the answers were the same they were all being pulled out of Hogwarts secretly, by their parents and guardians.

It was Luna, who was no longer starring about vacantly but was stood smiling at Draco who said ''Well a leashed Ari always could cause waves; a free Ari is likely cause a tsunami of Atlantean proportions.'' She paused looking up at Draco and with a mischevious smile asked ''don't you agree my love?''

The others looked on some with knowing smiles and others with dawning comprehension, before Anthony blurted out ''Morgana's tits, Potters not been seen since yesterday morning!''

Neville started to smirk and looked at Draco saying ''Looks like our cousin has acquired some information doesn't it… oh won't a certain old man be unhappy''. Thus summing up what some were already thinking. The others just looked at him in various states of bemusement.

This resulted in an hours worth of discussion and quite a few surprises for some. Not least of which was that Lord Aries Potter-Black aka Harry Potter had three betrothed two of whom were present. They carefully split up and went to organise their escapes, hopefully without tipping off the forces of the light or the dark.

Ministry of Magic; Ministers Office 10am 15th May 1994

24 hrs since Harry Potter was last seen

Cornelius Fudge was sat in his luxurious office gloating on the coup he had made yesterday when he had Sirius Black executed, it did not matter that he knew Black was innocent. He would now be able to have all of the Black resources seized by the Ministry taking a small cut for himself of course only half was quite reasonable as payment for getting rid of a 'dangerous criminal' and threat to 'our young hero'. It would make him look good in the Evening Prophet after his press conference today.

As he reached that last thought his office door opened and fours people entered. Lucius Malfoy, Malcolm Parkinson*, Richard Goldstein and Amelia Bones, transfigured the rather uncomfortable visitors chairs into very comfortable copies of executive office chairs and looked at Fudge who was sputtering without actually getting a word out.

Malcolm spoke first, with ''We have a document for you to sign Cornelius, it is actually only awaiting your signature to become active, it would be very much to your advantage to sign it now.'' He passed across one of the documents he held to Fudge.

Fudge looked at the document and blanched, it couldn't be, there was only one Potter wasn't there and that was Harry not some Aries kid. It was the legal and full emancipation of one Aries Jamille Potter-Black under the Merlin Code. Invoking the Rites of Blood, that entitled any minor heir of a titled family to claim his emancipation and Head of Family status at the age of 13 years.

It was a binding law that despite efforts over the years from unscrupulous guardians had never been and could not be revoked or even revised. It was also already signed by the Queen, the Head of Hottingers, the Head of Gringotts and Lady Amelia Bones as the Head of the DMLE.

His was the only required signature left; with the Queens signature it did away with the need for the Chief Warlock as he was technically the Queens' Wizard and her proxy in the magical world.

He was casting about his mind for an acceptable or at least semi-legal reason why he should not sign this document, he could feel all those lovely Galleons of The Black Trust slipping through his fingers. When Lucius Malfoy spoke taking away all hope and leaving him ashen faced ''Cornelius, you have no choice in this matter, it is legal by all laws of the land both magical and mundane. It is also legal under the international Laws of the Magical World. All that is left for you to do is sign under the code of secrecy inherent in the document, Then you will resign quietly to-morrow for …I believe health reasons will cover it.'' He sneered viciously then and said ''You lost all other options when you knowingly ordered the murder of an innocent man and the Lord of an Ancient and Noble House''.

Lucius paused and continued 'There is no way Lord Black was a danger to Lord Potter he was his blood bonded father and legal guardian in law. Because of this, he could not have betrayed the Potters, as you know magic would not allow it, he would have died''.

''He was never charged and he was never tried….so your options are this do what you have been told to do or I hand over this file of evidence, which includes every one of your corrupt dealings going back to school to Madam Bones here.''

Amelia nodded at this and spoke for the first time ''Which I will of course personally investigate…..I believe I can fit in your trial at 1400 hours today''.

At that Richard Goldstein spoke ''I will of course be acting as the prosecution to bring charges on behalf of the Black Family and especially its Heir, who I believe you have slandered publicly and labelled 'delusional'.'' He also sneered before adding ''At the trial I will also be invoking Blood Feud against the Fudge family on behalf of 11 of the 13 Ancient and Noble families unto the fifth generation.''

If Fudge could have gone any paler he would have done so when Malcolm Parkinson spoke again ''I suggest you comply with our requests Cornelius and you can keep your earnings of corruption and crawl into a nice hole, we here will take no other action against you.'' He was very careful not to exclude others from taking action.

Fudge reached for his quill and signed Aries emancipation, which glowed bright purple and vanished as he was hesitating reaching for parchment to write his resignation speech….

Amelia delivered the coup de grace to the vain, egotistical little man ''Hurry up man we don't have time for your dithering, we as the muggles would say 'have much bigger and more important fish to fry'…well hurry up!'' at that he caved.

His four visitors left the office 45 minutes after they arrived carrying with them his letter of resignation which unknown to him Amelia would read out at the scheduled press conference and 1400 today.

That would leave Dumbledore with conflicting priorities; he could either investigate the missing students or shore up his support base in the ministry. The four decided that with Aries involved it was a coin toss which he would do. Oh well they had to hurry now too much to do in far too little time.

Hogwarts Great Hall;1230, Lunch, 15th May 1994

Neville had been listening to the conversation between the two youngest Weasels and the Beaver. It had been quite entertaining the way they had been running around the castle and grounds all morning and most of the conspirators as Neville thought of the letter recipients were listening with hidden amusement to the trio arguing. There argument was settled finally by the Beaver who smugly stated ''He's probably still sulking in the chamber, as soon as he gets fed up he'll be back and Professor Dumbledore will put him right.''

With that the absconding students started to make their way out to their departure points.

By 1330 the last of the 10 students had gone, from Hogwarts completely with no trace physical or magical to say how or even when they left, let alone where they had gone.

Hogwarts Headmasters Office;1335, 15th May 1994

Dumbledore had just finished lunch in the relaxing area of his office. He was waiting for the annual Gringotts statement on the Potter Accounts; after all he did need to know how much he could transfer out of the Trust vault at the end of the month. They were late he should have received them first thing this morning. Never mind young Potter couldn't get to the money until August when he arranged for him to go to the Burrow. Fortunately, Molly still had his key and he didn't know he could request an additional one.

Dumbledore smirked to himself looking nothing like his usual grandfatherly persona. It had been a masterful stroke to put young Harry at the Dursley's, what rebellion and defiance he may have had had been beaten, worked and starved out of him long before he came to Hogwarts.

Now why had he been concerned? Ah yes Molly's flue call, young Harry had written to her last night asking for his vault key to go shopping early. Something about the muggles going on holiday and him having to stop with the sister (ah there was a woman after his own heart).

No, that would not do he could not allow young Harry to visit the bank before his birthday. Once he was 14 he would have lost the opportunity for early emancipation that 13 year old heir's had, no it was definitely for the best that he was kept away until the Weasley's could collect him on 1st August. That would give plenty of time for his Hermione to go to work on engaging his affection.

Mmm wonder where the response was granting him access to the Black Vaults on young Harry's behalf. Oh well he would write again after dinner, if he hadn't received it. Gringotts were being very lax today. Good days work getting rid of Black.

Now he just had to plan for when Hermione brought Potter to him if she hadn't found him by dinner he would send Fawkes …. mmm where was Fawkes never mind he would turn up by then. Out loud he said 'Its all going to plan, yes the greater good is close to being achieved'. Dumbledore dozed off to sleep with that thought, to dream, dreams of future glories and a place in history greater than Merlin himself.

Dumbledore didn't feel the anger of the Lady as she listened in. Such a shame she couldn't reapply the wards to him but she couldn't kill him it would be against her founders tenets. No he was now only an old man of slightly above average power.

All over Britain the missing students were being briefed by their parents or guardians. In Grasse, France, the same briefing was being give to a beautiful 16 and 13 year old girls.

Whilst the cause of all the activity Ari Potter-Black for short was having a nap in the new masters suit of his new home, with his new phoenix companion on the banks of the river Garonne.

…

_AN; **Corsham Castle is a beautiful place to visit. In fact anyone visiting the UK forget Strafford, visit the west country and welsh borders much more interesting and not a rip off (and I live in Warwickshire)._

_Also everyone should visit Versailles at least once, but the Garonne and Dordogne River valleys need repeat visits they are superb._

_*From Jeconais Fantastic story White Knight, Grey Queen one of the absolute best HP stories in Fanfic land. Highly recommend a read. ._


	5. Chapter 5

**Rise of the Grey Lords: Chapter 5 (edited heavily 26th January) **

**Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world. **

Chateaux Chambord, Lamarque, France. 1700 CET Sunday May 15th 1994 

Ari Potter-Black was waiting in the entrance hall of his new home on the Garonne River, where in combined with the Dordogne to become the Gironde Estuary.

After a 2 hour revitalizing nap he had sent only one more elf delivered message, to slightly amend the arrival time of one of the invited families. He had something very important to do before everyone arrived. His family and personal honour demanded it.

These would be the only guests greeted here; others would be escorted to the drawing room which gave a superb view of the river in the fading sun.

He looked every inch the Pureblood Prince he was, dressed in dark grey dress trousers, black dragon hide boots with a traditional slight heel, white silk dress shirt, with black silk vest shot with emerald thread, emerald green pleated cravat style tie with a trillion cut diamond pin and a fitted over-robe of silver grey acromantula silk edged with black again shot with emerald green on the hem and cuffs. On his left breast his new house crest of a flaming Phoenix, holding a quartered shield containing a Lion, Gryphon, Basilisk and Unicorn in each of the 4 quadrants. In the centre was a symbol of a circle, with a triangle and a line overlaying it.

His wand was in a holster on his right arm and his focus band on his left. Other than his combined house ring on the right ring finger of his perfectly manicured hands and the diamond cravat pin, the only jewellery he wore was a rhodium ear chain cuff containing a single matching diamond stud in his left ear. Of course even at home he never took off his protective neck chain and he had added many runes of protection during his time in the room.

His hair shone in the light of the overhead chandelier. It was loose over his shoulders and fell between his shoulder blades at the back in soft curling waves. The curls just a little tighter than Sirius' hair displayed the Potter influence. Aries had to admit he looked good and was dressed to impress. He was to be fair going to be formally introduced to two of his betrothed and was meeting the third; a half Veela nearly 3 years his senior for the first time.

He would also be meeting many of his parents' friends, their families and major allies, most of whom had not seen him since he was a year old. He smiled a genuine smile of amusement, Phineas had said he would knock them dead.

At that thought he heard the ding of an incoming sanctioned portkey and took a deep breath letting it out slowly, let the games begin.

The Malfoy family arrived in the entrance hall. All three of them landed gracefully with only a slight hitch from Draco.

Aries stepped forward and bowed to the perfect degree for his status to an elder of the same status, his wife and heir. Then taking another step forward he shook Lucius and Draco's hands and bowed again to Narcissa whilst brushing his lips over Narcissa's hand in a traditional Pureblood greeting and welcoming them in the smooth cultured baritone, his voice had settled into;

'Lord Lucius, Lady Narcissa, Lord Draconis I welcome you as family into my residence, currently Châteaux Chambord in France.' Aries had just welcomed the Malfoys' to treat all of his homes as close family would; it was the highest privilege one family could offer another.

Lucius smiled and bowed in the same way, whilst Narcissa smiling softly curtsied in acknowledgement of the honour he had granted them. Draco's bow was deeper as an heir to an acknowledged lord of a family. It was Lucius who replied ''I thank you for your welcome, particularly its substance. I would like to respond in the only manner I can at this moment and ask that you use familial courtesies''.

Aries responded with a deeper bow of younger to older family member and his face lit up with a genuine smile that reached his beautiful eyes and said ''Thank you for the privilege; Uncle Lucius, Aunt Narcissa, Cousin Draconis. I hope you will accept the same.''

Narcissa caught her breath and smiling thought, Merlin even betrothed he will break heart's; whilst Lucius' smiled also his thoughts ran along the lines of Prongs rides again. All Draco could think and nearly said out loud was ' What the bloody hell happened to Potter'.

Aries continued ''If I could ask for your indulgence for just a moment more. Due to misinformation, external malicious magical influence and ignorance I made a serious error three years ago in my first interactions with Lord Draconis and I wish to rectify this if possible.''

''Draconis Combe-Malfoy- Viscount Combe, Heir Wiltshire, on my magic and honour, I offer you my sincerest and heartfelt apologies for the insult I gave to both you personally and your family not only for spurning your generous and genuine offer of friendship and advice but also the churlish, ill-considered and insulting manner of my refusal. Do you accept my apologies, so that we can proceed from this point as the brothers' we should have been growing up?'' Ari's face held genuine remorse and regret as he bowed again more deeply as the petitioner.

Draco did not even take a second but stepped forward with his hand outstretched and said

'Hello, I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, pleased to meet you. I wish to offer you my friendship and assistance'' and with a smirk added ''after all, it does not do to associate with the wrong sort. I can help you their.'' Paraphrasing their first meeting at Hogwarts.

Aries couldn't keep from responding with a similar smirk, but immediately took his hand in a firm but not crushing grip and replied ''Hello Draco I'm Potter-Black, Ari Potter-Black. I would like nothing more than to accept your friendship and assistance. I understand we're cousins and your mother's my Godmother. Does that mean we're brothers?''. He also couldn't resist adding with an exagerated innocent expression ''Of course Cousin I am sure we will get on famously now we have stopped throwing our rattles out of the pram.''

Draco snorted a quick laugh at that and really smiled now ''I would like that Ari, I always wanted a little brother.''

They both laughed and Ari responded with mock outrage and a pout ''Little who are you calling little I'm bigger than you Drake.''

Draco answered by clapping him on the back reasoned smuggly ''That may be Ari but I'll grow and you'll always be younger than me.'' With that they both stepped back and looked each other in the eyes seriously before both nodding, yes, they would put the past behind them and become the brothers they were meant to be.

They heard a very quiet sniffle from behind them and they saw Lucius holding a crying Narcissa who kept repeating '' The boys are together again Luc, the boys are together at last..'.

Both Draco and Ari moved over to them and Draco went to put his arm around his mother. But she just stood up straight and grabbed both of the boys in a gentle hug and said.

''I'm so proud of you boys. I love you both so much. This is what you were meant to be.''

She pretended not to notice how Aries stiffened slightly at the physical contact. She would address that in time; right now there was an important event to deal with. She swept her wand quickly over herself restoring her appearance to the perfection it had been and stated

''Now Ari call me Aunt Cissa, Narcissa is such a mouthful don't you think.. lead the way, lets get settled before the other's arrive.''

Aries looked at Lucius and Draco who surreptitiously shook their heads, so he decided to carry on ''If we go this way we are meeting in the formal family drawing room.''

They followed Aries down the corridor and through the double doors of what was already one of his favourite rooms in the châteaux. He asked ''Would you like to sit on the terrace while Jules organises some refreshments.'

Cissa answered ''Of course Ari this was always my favourite room here.''

He smiled at her and said ''It's one of mine as well.'' Draco was looked in awe at everything. Bloody hell he thought Corshams nice but this was bloody perfect. Out loud he said

''Nice little place you have here Ari.''

Aries laughed loudly at that and said ''I rather like it as well Drake want to stop the summer and explore together?''

Draco looked up and replied ''I'd like that little bro, do you think mum would stay as well if we asked?''

''If we offer the right bribe she might'' Ari said and he winked at Draco ''did you know Drake I really need a new summer wardrobe. Do you think you can advise me? I was thinking Paris, New York and possibly Milan. I've got a few of other little places' in Paris, New York and Lake Como apparently''.

Cissa couldn't resist and said emphatically ''I will be staying and taking you both to get your new ensembles. I will not trust 2 teenage boys with something so important.''

Aries had just thought to call Jules for refreshments when he popped in with ''Monseigneur Duc, requires refreshments for his family? Might I suggest the Sauvignon Blanc the '92 pressing was particularly fine as Monseigneur found earlier?''

After the others had indicated their agreement Aries said ''Yes please Jules if you will'' with a snap the elf was holding a tray with 4 crystal glasses of the rather nice chilled white wine.

Aries set his glass down after a sip. But Lucius took longer, tasted it with appreciation and said ''Nice, very nice Ari. I don't suppose..''

Aries looked at Jules and held up a hand, at Jules' nod he replied ''Of course Uncle Lucius the cases will be delivered to Malfoy Manor within the next few moments.''

He hesitated slightly and for the first time showed uncertainty and his true age as he asked ''Aunt C..cissa I wondered as my Godmother if you would act as chatelaine. Merlin knows you would have been if not for a murdering old bastard.''

Cissa moved over to him and gave him a light hug and a kiss on the forehead (the first he could ever remember) and said ''Of course I will my dear godson. In fact emancipated or not both Luc and I will be taking care of you from now. This is what should have been for the last twelve years.'' She gave a un-lady snort and said 'From what Draco has told us it's a full time job keeping you out of trouble.''

Aries just grinned with a faint flush on his cheeks and conceded ruefully ''You both may have a point.''

''Hm'' Was Narcissa only response to that comment, before she became focused again ''Back to business who arrives next?''

Ari gulped ''The Delacours, Marcel, Appoline who's a Veela and my mothers 2nd cousin once removed or something like that.''

He almost gulped again ''Their daughter Fleur aged 16 and my Chambord and Peverall betrothed and her younger sister Gabrielle aged 13 nearly 14.''

Lucius and Draco both chuckled at this and Lucius interjected ''Ah the first of the 3.''

Narcissa carried on in a brisk voice ''Right Aries, you greet the Delacours, whilst I greet the others and introduce them to you. That way it will give you time to greet them properly while we'' indicating Lucius and Draco keep them busy.

''Right Aunt Cissa… here we go.''

The Delacours were escorted into the room by another elf and Jules introduced ''Monsier le Compte de Grasse, Marcel Delacour, Madam le Comptesse, Appoline Delacour, Mademoiselle Fleur et Mademoiselle Gabrielle Delacour.''

Aries stepped forward and in fluent French greeted the Delacour's, giving them the same familial greeting as the Malfoys. However, this time the greeting included the traditional French hugs and kiss to both cheeks.

The elder Delacours' were effusive and genuine in their greeting, whilst Fleur appeared somewhat reserved, until Gabrielle innocently blurted out ''Maman can I have an Aries as well!'' at that everyone laughed and a more relaxed atmosphere seemed to settle on the room.

Ari stumbled a little over his greeting to Fleur, he was no more than vaguely aware of her allure, but, he was very aware that she was an extremely beautiful young woman and his future wife. Great Morgana he was a very, very lucky boy.

By this time the Malfoys were also introduced and refreshments served by the elves. Although, the Delacours were fluent in English, the Malfoys did not hold the title Compte de La Rochelle for nothing, so everyone was quite happy conversing in French.

Whilst Fleur may have appeared cool, she was taking in every detail of her betrothed and she had to admit she was now more than happy with the arrangement. Her previous concerns about the age gap had gone and she was wondering why the only pictures she had seen of him showed a scrawny scruffy little boy. He definitely wasn't that, he was quite simply gorgeous and her Veela was beginning to hum, unknowingly intensifying her allure.

Appoline quickly grabbed her attention having noticed the glazed look in Draco's eyes.

To which Fleur blushed slightly and consciously fought to control the allure.

While Draco cleared his head before whispering in Aries ear ''You are one lucky bastard, little brother.''

Ari grinned and replied rhetorically ''I am aren't I?''

At that he was introduced to the next guests, the Bones of Glamorgan. He again greeted them with the same courtesies as the Malfoys', before thanking Madam Bones for expediting his emancipation.

When he greeted Susan it was to apologise 'I'm sorry Susan, I didn't know about our families or the betrothal until yesterday, or I would have made much more effort to get to know my beautiful betrothed. I was hoping that you would be able to spend some time here and at the Potter estate so we can get to know each other better. Lady Narcissa and Draco will be present as well and we are hoping to invite some of our other guests who will be present to-night.''

Susan, who was having to concentrate very hard not to drool over this new totally 'fit' Harry no Aries, just nodded vigorously and managed to breath enough to say ''I would love to Aries, Aunt Amelia had already suggested it would be a good idea and I would like to see more of your beautiful home.'' She stopped for breath and looked up at him with large deep blue eyes, standing out in the porcelain perfection of her face, framed as it was by waves of curling deep auburn hair. She was lovely, …yes a very, very lucky boy.

Ari could only laugh and say ''So would I. I only got here this morning and I need an elf escort everywhere.''

At this he had to move on to the Greengrass' as Narcissa introduced, Jonathan, Celia, Astoria and of course Daphne his 3rd and thankfully final betrothed. They had surprisingly similar responses as the Delacours' to the introductions, although Daphne at 14 was not as skilled at covert examination as Fleur and Aries caught her studying him.

Where Fleur was pale gold perfection and Susan petite loveliness, Daphne was beautifully elegant and somewhat exotic, with violet almond shaped eyes, creamy flawless complexion and waves of silky blue black hair framing her face to perfection.

As Draco had so crudely put it he was one very lucky bastard or damned, knowing his luck it was probably the later.

It was at this time and just before he greeting his very good friend Neville and his grandmother Lady Augusta Longbottom, who insisted on being called Aunt, that Pol flamed in to many exclamations, most of alarm. He hovered briefly looking into Ari's eyes before settling on the balustrade of the terrace they were standing on.

As the British contingent looked alarmed Aries rushed to reassure them. 'Its fine Polaris the familiar of Godric Griffindor, erroneously referred to by some as Fawkes has decided that I am her companion.'' When he saw the looks of awe and dawning glee on most of the faces he said ''It appears Dumbledork has just found out that he is missing 11 students including yours truly.''

Everyone settled then and greeting were given although with the exception of the Longbottoms, Parkinsons and Lovegoods (Pansy and Luna were betrothed to Neville and Draco, his 'brothers'). They were welcomed under the blood laws of hospitality as his allies and not family. It was 1830 CET or 1730 GMT when everyone was settled on the heavily enchanted terrace overlooking the river and valley.

Aries stood up and gathered their attention. ''I thank you all for coming this evening at the invitation of a rather presumptuous youth. However, I have come into a lot of information over the last 31 hours give or take a bit. I have a large pensive set up with my pertinent memories of that time, it is quite a unique one developed by my mother which suspends time to a great extent, it should take you about an hour to view its contents, after that I can answer any questions you may have and clarify others over dinner''.

''If you could all place your right index fingers into the bowl I believe it is powered enough to accommodate everyone.''

Pansy (who he had been shocked to find out was Neville's betrothed) said what many others were thinking ''You would let us access your pensive and memories?''

Ari replied 'Of course Pans we're all in this together now and trust and information sharing is vital.'

With approving nods from the adults, all 27 of his newly discovered extended family and friends gathered around the pensive and as one touched the swirling silvery substance inside. While he waited for his guests and family, Aries stood petting Pol who was perched by his side overlooking the valley and watching the rays of the setting sun hitting the swirling water on the opposite bank.

Just over an hour later they came back to awareness and looked through the doors at Aries who was gently stroking the Phoenix beside him gave a conflicting picture of power and vulnerability, independance and loneliness.

He had put some scenes of his childhood with the muggles in to illustrate the extent of what Dumbledore had done to him and this as well as other things was the reason that many of the men (and most of the women) looked ready to kill. It also explained the sadness and tears in the eyes of many and a new appreciation of the youth in front of them.

It was Neville who broke the sombre mood by saying ''Hey little Bro if I stay here this summer will you teach me to fight like that?'' with accompanying nods from Draco, Anthony, Blaise and surprisingly Pansy, Daphne, Susan, Hanna, Luna and Fleur.

Ari said ''I will if you want, I need to find a Sensei and practice anyway, but why do you want to do it, its not easy as you've seen?''

It was Blaise who summed up what the boys at least were thinking and said in his cultured drawl ''AHah my dear boy, then perhaps the girls will look at us like a tasty desert as well.'' The other boys and the adults around them erupted into laughter, the girls were too busy blushing and Aries was sputtering before joining in the laughter.

In the end when he caught his breath his response was ''It's a deal but only if you get up to exercise with me. For both, Aikido and Jujitsu you have to be fit.''

Draco was about to chance his mind when he looked at his betrothed, Luna's mouth was in a 'O' shape and he large pale blue eyes focused on Draco as she said just 3 words ''Please, for, me''.

That did it he caved in; he would do anything for his Luna he really did love her and for all she was the year below him at Hogwarts she was only 3 months younger. Draco's birthday was June 30th and Luna's was September 30th.

After a few moments Narcissa said ''Shall we go into dinner Aries, we can cover the more serious questions later''.

''Of course, Jules if you would our guests are ready to dine'' Ari said and he began to lead his guests though to the beautiful family dinning room next to the drawing room.

There was no prearranged seating although Ari sat at the head with Fleur and Gabrielle either side and Narcissa sat at the foot as his chatelaine and closest relative with Lucius and Richard Goldstein besides her. The moment everyone was seated the food arrived as it did at Hogwarts and by mutual consent everyone engaged in small talk for the duration of the first and second courses. During which, Aries started become acquainted with Fleur and not to left out Gabrielle

This changed slightly by the end of the main course though. Malcolm Parkinson who had been engaged in a conversation with George Abbott, Amelia Bones and Jonathan Greengrass, about half way down the table asked the question that most of the students wanted to know the answer to, namely what about Hogwarts ''Lord Aries, will you be going back to school?''

Aries took a sip of the iced water he had been drinking during the meal, responded 'Please we are friends and will be connected by family in the near future call me Ari or Aries if you prefer, being called Lord reminds me why I had to give up quidditch?'' This comment caused some laughter from the boys and smiles from the agaults. ''To answer your question, I do not need to attend school. Although, despite Phineas and Lady Hogwarts assuring me that the inherent magic involved, ensures that the OWL's and NEWT's I took would be attributed to my magical signature. I do not feel that I have earned those results honestly and with impartial examiners.'' He paused briefly to take a sip of water and continued.

''Because of that, in a week's time I'll be portkeying to the Dutch Antilles where I'll spend a week doing the ICW tests in NEWTS and OWLS, for all of the subjects I've already taken. Including Herbology, where I've already studied the theory but I will be doing intensive lessons on the practical side in the Greenhouses here for next week to prepare for the OWL test. I'll also be spending time with the Beastmaster here to have a go at my OWL in CoM for the first time,''

He continued ''Until we've removed Dumbledore from Hogwarts at least, I do not feel that it is safe for any of us here to return to school. Unless it is somewhere outside his influence and I don't think there is such a place at the moment. No, I think for all of us here tutors are the best way to go. According to my new companion here Dumbles is now concentrating on the missing students rather than the Minister of Magic, crisis. He hasn't yet connected my disappearance with the others though, but, knowing him he will soon. Additionally, we have seen from House Malfoys and my fathers experiences that he will go to any lengths to get control of me and my Houses.''

When he finished, everyone around the table was nodding in agreement and the students were looking very exited and enthusiastic by the end of his monologue. Although, a lot were looking at him with something close to awe. Why?

Well, in front of them was a not quite 14 year old practically radiating power and the shocking thing was that for the last few minutes as he grew more intense he had begun to manifest a visible silver and gold aura. This was unheard of in most adults let alone a teenager. Yes, Aries Potter-Black would lead the next generation and the rise of the neutral families, the Grey Families.

Malcolm had nodded along with the others. ''I have to say I agree with you Aries. My girl is one of the two most important people to me and I will do my utmost to keep her safe and happy''. He smilled and said ''Besides Pansy would practice her hexes on me if I take her away from time with young Neville here''.

Amelia Bones asked ''Are we all agreed that our students will be home tutored from now?''

When there were no disagreements with this, Aries spoke again ''As the major instigator of this situation, I would like to offer my home to my fellow students. There is ample room here and all of the facilities we will need, including a magical creature reserve and greenhouses with resident masters in Care and Herbology. Also, it will help us get to know each other and learn to work together. Without false modesty I could sit my Masteries in DADA, Runes, Warding and Potions today if I was prepared to have it posted. I also know a lot about Enchanting and am not far from mastery level there. So what subjects does that leave and are there any other students that we need to include and we can trust implicitly?''

As he finished saying this the table cleared of the main course and the desserts and cheeses arrived.

Gruoch Parkinson** took a small pad out of her hidden pocket which she reversed to full size and taking what looked like a muggle fountain pen said ''Ok kids, lets start with the boys what subjects are you studying? Neville?''

By the time Gruoch had gone around all of the students the list was complete.

All of them, except Fleur had; potions, transfiguration, charms, herbology, astronomy, DADA and History.

Daphne had suggested that they carry on with the basic 7 subjects and that all of them do ancient runes, C of MC, Arithmacy and muggle studies.

It was decided that Gabrielle, Astoria Greengrass and Luna who were finishing 2nd year, would all have lessons together and see if they could catch up with the older students.

This was accepted by everyone. It was decided that Fleur would go to the Veela School as she had her NEWT's in the next school year. It was totally hidden from the outside and she would be safe there. She would return and stay at the Châteaux on the weekends, to get to know Aries and the others better.

Everyone was happy with this; it was found that they didn't need any external tutors, yet, a lot of the ladies around the table held masteries in various subjects.

So it was decided; Ari would cover Runes and DADA. Sophia Zabini was a Potions Mistress and would cover that subject. Marilyn Abbot would teach Charms as that was her mastery together with being a Healer. Narissa would teach Arithmacy as she had a Mastery in that subject as well as charms, Celia Greengrass was Transfiguration or Potions, Augusta Longbottom was History, Appoline was Astronomy and Xeno Lovegood, who had been quiet during the discussion to this point, said he would instruct in Unarmed Combat. When everyone looked at him, he responded by smiling slightly and assured them that he was the Sensei who instructed some quote, 'Unspeakable folk' at the ministry, in both martial Arts and Weaponry.

Whilst most of the youths looked a bit confused at this, the adults and Aries looked at him with varying degrees of surprise and nods of acknowledgement. Xeno was one of those ultra secret people; he was an Unspeakable.

Lucius, Xeno, Marcel Delacour and Jonathan Greengrass also said they would come on the weekends to instruct in duelling and battle magic. Whilst, Malcolm Parkinson, Richard Goldstein and George Abbott would do the same for estate management, politics and law.

Muggle studies would be covered by 'playing' in the shielded fourth floor of the North Wing. This had muggle machines running on magic courtesy of Lily and Sirius. They would likewise visit the muggle world to practice interactions, under the guidance of Gruoch Parkinson, who had extensive knowledge of the muggle world, because of business.

With this decided, they began talking about the limited plans made so far and with the deserts vanished, the port, cognac and coffee arrived. It had been elicited that there were no other students who needed to be added to the group at that point, but it may have to be reviewed at some point.

The problem was that Neville at least needed another betrothed, as Baron Coker of Pontefract and Heir of Durham he was betrothed to Pansy who in her own right was Viscountess Belton as the Heir of Lincoln and Grantham on her mothers side. He would probably need to have another wife for Durham at a later chances of a witch having 4 children was almost un heard of.

Anthony, as Baron Chard and Heir of Somerset and Burton was the only one of the boys who was not betrothed. However, provided his future wife didn't have a title or no more than one, he only needed one wife, Chard being the Somerset heirs title. It had not been imperative for him, until his Uncle the then Earl had been killed in the same freak cyclone in which his mother had been drowned.

Blaise as Earl of Buccleuch-Argyle from his father and Visconte Arezzo from his mother, was betrothed Hanna Abbot, who was Heir of Dartmouth. Neither of them wanted another in the relationship as they got on really well and were very attached to each other, also Arezzo could be continued by the female line.

Of course Draco was Baron Combe and heir to Wiltshire and La Rochelle and betrothed to his Luna, who would be Countess of Exmoor, through her mothers family. Combe as an individual family had been lost by their predecessors because of ill-advised monogamy and absorbed by the Malfoy name. The same had happened to the Peverall family, being absorbed by the Potters. It was this practice which had resulted in a decrease in the magical population and though many were reluctant to admit it marriages to relatives that were too close to be healthy. So two main heirs were required for Wiltshire and Exmoor which would pass to a daughter through one of the rare Matriarchal Families and if they they had a spare, the La Rochelle or Combe families could be revived.

This was also one of the reasons Aries had 3 betrothed, he was head of 3 active families and the plan had been to revive the Peverall line. Fleur was Heir to De Grasse which could pass through the Matriarchal line, Daphne was the Heir to Worcester and Greenwich from her father. Finally, Susan was the only Heir of Glamorgan. Between them they had 8 major families, only 2 of which (De Grasse and Chambord) could be passed to a female.

Essentially of the 5 boys and 8 girls, all except Anthony, Gabrielle and Astoria were betrothed to one of the others within the group.

It was by general consent after the cheese course was removed that every one moved from the dinning room back to the terrace of the drawing room and prepared for more wide-reaching planning and action.

…..

_AN. Sorry no action in this chapter but I felt it was important to set up the group._

_** Again from Jeconais White Knight, Grey Queen._


	6. Chapter 6

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 6 (heavily edited 26th January)**

**Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world. **

Châteaux Chambord; 2200 CET Sunday May 15th 1994

When everyone was settled in groups on the terrace with their selected beverage, Richard Goldstein said 'Lets get down to business and the immediate plan. You have had more time to plan Aries so what's first.'

Aries called for another of his elves 'Jacques could you bring me the green, blue and red files of the desk in my study please?' almost instantly the files were in front of Aries and the elf was gone with a thanks.

'Ok' Ari began 'These folders are roughly separated into overlapping categories; the green political, the blue economic and financial and the red, shall we say punitive. I think that about covers it.'

'Please correct me if you disagree but, with Ladies' Parkinson, Abbott, Greengrass, Zabini, Longbottom and Delacour teaching I think the onus will be on those Lords present. I Suggest for Politics we have Lords Malfoy, Goldstein, and Abbott, with Lord Delacour managing the ICW. Economics; Lords Greengrass and Parkinson and the punitive primarily being covered by Lady Bones, Lord Lovegood and myself.' The coloured files followed in the correct colour to the people named.

It took about 15 minutes for the recipients to scan the contents of their files. Most were nodding and seemed to move into those groupings.

Amelia spoke up then and said rather sternly 'Aries how will we, neutralise the old death eaters.'

'Well Amelia, with Riddle dead and no threat I have a spell and ritual to use, this either takes the residue of the dark mark away or destroys the bearer of that reside, by fracturing their core, when the connection is ripped away. According to his journals the later, is what Dumbles was going to do to the remaining death eaters if they did not accept his reincarnation of Voldemort. What we have to do is identify those like Uncle Lucius who were forced to take the mark.' the next was said with intense hatred 'Snape wasn't one of those, he was a dedicated true murdering bastard.' He stopped at that and actually let out a truly animalistic growl, his eyes were glowing and his hair lifting. For the first time in a very long time Ari felt his magic get away from him and starting to lash out looking for his target.

Everyone was taken a back at his reaction Cissa jumped up saying 'Merlin I forgot about that!' and took him in a hug 'Ssshss it's all right now you can have him, sshss…' He settled with a sigh and curled into Cissa.

Narcissa slowly eased her embrace and said 'I think you need to show our friends why your response was so, shall we say visceral. Mmm?'

At that Ari stood up and said 'My parents apparently put a block on me at 8 months old to stop this..' with that he appeared to blur briefly before he changed into a rather large Black Panther with bright emerald green eyes and lethal fangs and claws. Whilst most of the adults appeared stunned and the boys in awe. All of the girls cooed at him but it was Astoria who got to him first. The rest of the Greengrass family caught their breath as they saw their youngest member (who had not had a growth spurt yet) hugging a black panther who out massed her about 5 :1 and said 'Mommy, Daphy's got a black kitten can I have a white one please?'.

At that Ari the panther licked her with a rough tongue and changed back, still hugging Astoria and laughing.

He quickly let go of Astoria when she began to blush, waved his hand to restore both of their previously polished appearances and sat down again with a soft apology.

He continued in a steely voice 'I will gut Snape, without magic and while he is alive rip out his throat, that subject is not open to discussion. Ronald Bilius Weasley and Hermoine Dagforth-Granger-Dumbledore will probably meet the same fate. Snape was not only one of the people responsible for Sirius' death, not even listening when I tried to tell him what had happened. He was responsible for James being rendered sterile and if not for my extraordinary mother that piece of slime would have killed a magical family line that went back over 2500 years. That murdering, rapist scum would have made my family extinct.' He took a deep shuddering breath and coldly stated 'I will have retribution for my family, my magic and family honour demands it.'

That was when they saw James Potter come to the fore, Sirius and Lily both lacked the ruthlessness lethality of James, which is what had made him the Alpha in their 3 way marriage and bond.

It was Augusta Longbottom who settled it with saying 'I agree with Aries course of action for that piece of filth Snape and his willing compatriots. We must deny Albus Dumbledore his tools. Dissenters, lets hear it now and move on.'

Amelia slowly nodded as the last to agree.

Lucius took it up now 'Edward Nott was responsible for all recruitment, identification and co-ordination; we need information from him on who had to be 'persuaded'.

Xeno Lovegood spoke up for the first time in this general discussion, causing most people to look surprised, they had forgotten he was there. 'Leave dear Ted to me and I'll have the names by tomorrow lunchtime at the latest.' He then smiled the absent minded smile he had worn all evening, until George Abbott said 'How will you manage that Xeno.'

Xenos' reply surprised everyone except Luna, when he said 'If I told you I would have to do Unspeakable things to you after. Wouldn't I?'

That's it, everyone including the teens knew Xeno Lovegood was not just an 'ordinary' Unspeakable , he was one of a very select group and a very secret one, because even Amelia hadn't known, if the look on her face was any indication. Yes they would have their information.

Jonathan Greengrass spoke this time 'We need to push for the appointment of an interim Minister tomorrow before, that damn Umbridge woman gets any control as senior- undersecretary and Dumbledore can focus and gather all his forces. How many votes of the 40 do we hold lets see; Aries 3, Longbottom-Coker 2, Douglass-Zabini 1, Glamorgan- Bones 1, Goldstein-Burton 2, Abbot 1, Malfoy-Combe 2, Lovegood-Exmoor 1, Parkinson-Belton 2, myself 2, Plus Amelia's as head of the DMLE 1. That gives us 18 of the 25 is there anyone else we can call upon? We need 4 more to be safe. With the Ministers vote un-available'

It was Gruoch Parkinson who answered first with 'James McDougal and Gerald Davis will side with us, they despises Dumbledore and the Supremacists.' Jonathan and Lucius agreed with that.

Augusta said 'My brother Algernon holds the Head of Department vote for the Department of Mysteries. But, I really do not know how many of the other 6 heads of departments will vote. Um... except its pretty much assured Amos Diggory will be Dumbledores candidate and back hiself. '

'Dear Old Algie' Coker' mused Xeno, 'you might want to let him know a little bit more of what's developing.'

Lucius spoke up again and said 'So we can guarantee There will be others, but, we need to feel out a few possible allies tomorrow. Now Aries have you written to appoint new proxies?'

'Yes Uncle Lucius, as my closest blood relative and Godmother Aunt Cissa is my proxy until I am 16 and can take the seats myself…. No one can argue with that appointment and Dumbledore just lost 3 proxies. Because he was never officially appointed in those seats under my house seals, the Secretary of the Wizengamot has been formally notified that I am currently reviewing all votes undertaken whilst he illegally used those proxies. Off the record it's already done and about 12 laws or amendments will be changed as my new proxy recasts the votes where my Houses interests are best served.'

The adults roared with laughter now and it was Sophia Zabini who said 'You gutted him you put him back years!'

'Yes' Aries almost purred with a pure Slytherin smirk, he continued seriously 'we have one more thing to do tonight and we need to be decisive I'm shattered and my young colleagues are as well. I've talked to Phineas about this and he believes that George' indicating Lord Abbot 'would be the best person for interim minister. Phineas really gets around the Paintings at the Ministry and Phin said he will be the least suspect of the viable members of our group.' Everyone nodded yes except the person concerned.

Malcolm piped up 'They're right George you would take away most of the remaining neutral vote from Dumbledore.'

George considered this for a full 5 minutes and they could see the actual thoughts crossing his face, finally 'OK your right, the rest of us are seen as too light, too dark, god forbid too old or as having too many responsibilities. Yes I'll do it.'

Everyone let out a breath and Polaris who had been sitting on the balustrade flew to the bach of Ari's chair and trilled as if happy with the outcome. 'Thanks, Pol' Ari said, the 'OK who's staying and when do we meet tomorrow.'

In the end all of the teens stayed plus Celia Greengrass, Gruoch Parkinson (Malcolm held her proxy), Appoline Delacour and Marilyn Abbott. Basically, all the ladies who weren't needed to vote.

It was decided that those that could would reconvene at 1300 to update Aries and the remaining ladies.

Jules escorted Celia, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Appoline, Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour and Gruoch and Pansy Parkinson, Susan, Draco, Neville , Luna and Ari to the family apartments on the 2nd floor of the main house.

Jacques escorted Blaise, Anthony,and Marilyn and Hanna Abbott to the 2nd floor of the south wing where the apartments for close friends were.

Nott House; Suffolk, 0615 GMT, Monday 16th May 1994

A slight shimmer could be seen at the gate leading to quite a large 3 story detached Victorian house, on the very outskirts Ipswich. The shimmer had been preceded by what looked like the flash of rear car fog lights vanishing round the corner of the house.

Following this there was nothing just the rays of the sun rising to the right of the house over the North Sea which lay only 5 miles in that direction.

For just an instant the door opened and closed obviously someone hidden in the shadows of the door checking the weather, it had been quite cool for mid-May.

It was about 15 minutes later that the owner of the house Edward Nott woke up abruptly, with a feeling of alarm. As he tried to move he realised why he had that feeling.

He knew he had a problem when he felt the rope around his neck which appeared to be tied to the chandelier in his dinning room. The restriction in his movement was a result of the chains binding him from his shoulders to his ankles and he found that he was also standing on a stool. Looking around as far as he could, he saw something that made him loose conscious control of bladder function and piss himself.

Sat comfortably in a leather wing backed chair was an individual clad in a seemingly grey hooded cloak, with their face completely obscured yet open.

Indeed Mr Nott knew who this was or rather what he was. Sat comfortably in his dinning room was a famous or as his old play mates would say infamous member of the Department of Mysteries, for short an Unspeakable.

He heard a mid-tone asexual voice Say 'Good morning Ted; I can call you Ted can I not. Off course I can. We are going to become friends after all, because friends share their secrets. Just like you are looking forward to doing, aren't you?

Now I haven't got all day to chat unfortunately so shall we cut to what I want you to tell me, umm?' With that his visitor stood producing 2 small vials, which he levitated to Nott's mouth and tipped in before returning to the chair.

A grey gloved hand was waved and he felt his jaw relax. Then his visitor sat up straighter and after a couple of minutes said 'Now Ted who of your old play mates took the mark unwillingly'.

Despite trying to fight the effects of the potions he had been given, Edward Nott could not prevent himself spilling out the 6 names and only 6 names of people who had been coerced into taking the death eater mark.

He was then asked who the unmarked agents and spies were. This list was longer 14 names. He was asked if he had withheld any important information in regard to the previous two questions. No was the answer. The stool vanished from under him and he was lowered to his feet. Then he felt his eyes locked open and faintly heard 'Leglimens'.

A tearing pain ripped through his head feeling like his mind was being shredded. It seemed go on forever and then he couldn't think any more.

Anyone walking their dog in Bridge Wood near Ipswich at 0730 that day, would have seen a tall slim 40ish man strolling along the river bank and throw a small doll into the water.

Of course they wouldn't know that the shrinking spell on Edward Nott would wear off in about an hour when he washed up dead, drowned, down river nearing Felixstowe at about 10 minutes past 9 that morning.

Ministry of Magic; Wizengamot Chamber, 0900 GMT 16th May 1994 

Amelia Bones, Director of The Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Lady Regent

of the Ancient and Noble - Bones family, sat in her accustomed seat to the left of the minister's chair. She was quit relaxed, after all she had just had a very busy but rewarding hour talking to Madam Dolores Umbridge. One more person who would not be voting this morning.

She looked over the exclusive group of people assembling, who decided what laws were needed, then wrote the laws, decided who had broken them and then decided what the punishment would be. There was no consultation outside of these 50 people, 40 of whom were born to the position and 10 who were ultimately appointed and employed by them. So in effect 40 unelected people decided how in excess of 40,000 people lived their lives.

That was when she realized that the entire system was terminally ill. Because of two long wars Grindlewald and before they could recover fully Voldemort, the leading families had been reduced. They had lost the influential, experienced Heads of House to the wars and powerful centuries old alliances had been forgotten because the heirs were too busy fighting a war.

There had been nothing to check power hungry Ministers and other individuals.

It was a testament of the effects of these wars that most of the leading British families, that is the Ancient and Noble ones had been reduced to a few 2nd and 3rd cousins and single, under age heirs, just look at their group; Aries heir to 3 old and great families (with Peverall) not to mention his mothers French family, Susan and Neville 3 families 2 of them Ancient for 2 single orphaned (or as good as) heirs, Blaise, the last Douglass of Buccleuch, Malcolm and Gruoch their only daughter Pansy 3 members only for 2 great family titles, Belton and Lincoln... yes Augusta was right Neville needed another wife. A widowed Richard Goldstein and Anthony sole heir to the Burton and Somerset titles and families... he would definitely need a betrothed soon and preferably not an heiress, Lucius, Narcissa and Draco, heir to 2 British and 1 French family. In fact even the Greengrass' were in a precarious position with 2 daughters as heirs to a patriarchal line of Worcester and Witley. 11 of the 13 Ancient and Noble families almost extinct, targeted by the power hungry individuals of both light and dark .

Yes all this time a power hungry man had been building his influence Albus Bloody Dumbledore. The man who had waited until these families had lost their experienced heads to begin chipping away at their society. It could be tracked to the 1930s when he started at Hogwarts as the Transfiguration professor, seeming to spring from no where. Within 5 years he was made head of Griffindor. Indoctrinating Griffindor's and to a slightly lesser extent Hufflepuffs from that point to the present, in the Cult of Dumbldore.

Then there was his well timed defeat of his ex-lover, after waiting 15 years. A grateful nation had given him their highest award 1st class (making him Lord Dumbledore), soon followed by Deputy Head of Hogwarts to a senile Headmaster Dippet, all the time building his image and the cult of Dumbledore.

Then just a couple of years later the old Chief Warlock retired and the hero was appointed as Chief Warlock and then Dippet Died in 1960. The logical appointment was the nations' hero, the self proclaimed Leader of the Light and most powerful wizard alive.

That's when the curriculum changed and education was 'dumbed' down muggle-borns were subsidised by higher fees for pure, full and half-blood students and numbers of pupils plummeted.

His coup de grace came in 1963 when the still grateful International Confederation of Wizards voted him Chief Mugwump. He now had total control; he had his followers some as dedicated and fanatical as Voldermorts death eaters were. However, he had made a mistake not killing Aries Potter-Black. His need to control and harness the power of the Potter line and introduce that power into his newer line would cause his downfall, eventually.

Ah here he comes now, game face on Bones. Amelia checked once more all of the allies were present. Xeno had a particularly befuddled smile today, I wonder if he is the mythical Spectre the alleged 'fix it' agent of the DOM. Malcolm, Lucius, Sophia and Augusta were looking particularly pleased at something.

Albus no longer radiated and projected the power that he had just a few short days ago when she had seen him. Hogwarts curse had worked, he was now only an above average old wizard (unfortunately the 'Lady' couldn't kill him it was against the founders code).

As he reached her, wearing his usual smug condescending smile (and ridiculous robes)he said 'Ah Amelia just the person. Why are we meeting today Dolores assured me that she would not be calling the meeting to address Minister Fudges resignation until next week?'.

Amelia smiled sweetly 'Unfortunately Albus, Madam Umbridge is currently being held for questioning for illegal activities and possession of class 5 restricted artefacts. So it falls to me to call for the Wizengamot to meet to appoint a Minister. I believe that is what you informed me Secretary Crossley.

An old white haired wizard who sat at a desk covered in scrolls below nodded and said

'Of course Madam, by law an executive lead must be appointed within 2 days of the previous one leaving office.'

Amelia smiled again and said 'There you go Albus, I am following the law. Now shall we begin?'

Dumbledore made his way to his seat noting that there was almost a full complement.

Following procedure he commenced with ceremony 'I call this the 28th gathering of the Wizengamot of Great Britain for the year of 1994, in the 52 year of the reign of our sovereign Queen Elizabeth of House Windsor…..Do we have any changes to our august ranks, by election, inheritance or appointment. Now is the time to speak.'

Expecting to only wait a few second before carrying on to the meat of the assembly he was about to carry on when.

'I Narcissa Black-Malfoy have been mandated, by my Cousin by blood and as his Godmother by magic and following the death of his blood bound Father and previous guardian. By the emancipated minor Lord Aries Jamille Potter-Black, Earl of Hereford, Radnor and Shropshire, Baron of Brockhampton, Llandrindod and Shrewsbury, as his proxy until he is of age to take his place amongst this assembly . So I say, so mote it be' with a flash of magic the proxy was accepted. Narcissa sat down to chaos.

At the mention of the name it took a few seconds to compute who it was but a second after Black was heard the noise level was rising to shouting. The conspirators sat back calmly and let it carry on carefully observing the reactions of their fellow Lords.

Dumbledore was white, he had found his missing pawn and without the leverage of the Malfoy heir he was stalled, for the moment. He had also lost 3 proxy votes, thereby, loosing his majority. Thinking to stop some of the speculation which was getting too close for comfort he raised his wand and after applying a sonorus charm sent up a loud bang and stream of sparks before saying 'All members are called to order, silence in the gallery or I will order it cleared. Secretary Crossley has the proxy be accepted?' Crossley answered in the affirmative squashing that idea. So he continued.

'Thank you; we welcome Lady Black-Malfoy as proxy for Lord Potter-Peverell-Black of Hereford, Radnor and Shropshire.' He was somewhat breathless when he said 'The first item to address is the appointment of a Minister of Magic according to the Law of the Wizengamot. Nominations will be accepted in 15 minutes.'

There was still a hum heard around the room as groups of Lords and proxies approached each other. Lucius had approached Narcissa, mainly as a protective presence as it looked like she was about to be mobbed.

One idiot even asked if it really was Harry Potter? Narcissa could be heard very clearly when in her clear aristocratic voice she said 'Of course not, there never was a 'Harry' Potter. Ari that is A.R.I is an affectionate familial nickname his parents called him as a baby, it is of course short for Aries. I never did know where this 'Harry 'business came from and Lord Aries is having his solicitors address this issue with anyone who has misrepresented or profited from the misuse of the Potter name.'

This statement sent a shock-wave through the room and a shift was apparent, the game had changed and it seems there was a new player. The moderate supporters of both the traditional 'Light' and 'Dark' began to think they may have a new option that fit their beliefs better than the current arrangement. Given that, numerous small groups were talking quietly.

Dumbledore in his arrogance did not realise that the first blow had been landed in a fight he was not yet aware of. He would be though, by the end of today's session.

Exactly 15 minutes had passed when Dumbledore again sent up sparks and said 'I now call this assembly to order and stated 'I will now take nominations for the post of Minister of Magic for Great Britain.' Marius Flint immediately stood up and nominated Godfrey Lestrange, this was seconded by Giles Crabbe. Next was Gordon McLaggen who nominated Amos Diggory seconded by Dedaleus Diddle. Just as Dumbledore was about to speak and call for the vote. Another person stood and Jonathan Greengrass nominated George Abbot, who was immediately seconded by Augusta Longbottom.

Most of the gallery was shocked they were only expecting two candidates. It was also confusing as Greengrass and Longbottom had always voted for opposing sides before. Dumbledore though could do nothing about this unexpected turn of events and had to call for the vote. This he explained was to be indicated by a lighting of the vote holders wand whilst saying the name. A green light was for Lestrange, Red for Diggory and Blue for George Abbott.

The vote would be recorded automatically by the magic inherent in the chamber.

Those present, both in the chamber and the gallery were watching the lights avidly.

With dawning comprehension, there seemed to be an awful lot of blue lights.

The vote only took a few minutes and the results appeared in front of Dumbledore, with a bright golden flash.

Dumbledore showed that the seal was unbroken, before using the dedicated knife that was handed to him by the Secretary to cut the aforementioned seal and unwind the scroll. He then proceeded to read the results. 'Members present 47 of 50, Votes cast are as follows; Lord Godfrey Lestange 10 votes, Mr Amos Diggory 12 votes and Lord George Abbot 25 votes. With the majority of votes Lord George Abbot is the New Minister for Magic so it is recorded, so mote it be.' A flash was seen and the ministerial mantle was around Georges' shoulders.

Dumbledore was exhausted as he sat there thinking, {what was the matter with him, his brain just didn't seen to be working properly the last couple of days and he was sure there had been a mistake with his notification, it had said interim hadn't it? So why had he not said interim Mmmm, Yes definitely get Poppy to check him out when he got back to his school. Of course if something was wrong he would have to Obliviate her again. He would have to be careful though, he'd had to do this so many times since young Harry came to Hogwarts, he was in danger of causing permanent damage. Why did she have to keep insisting she report his past injuries and the rest? Hm yes what to do now? This was a disaster; it would be difficult to get George to do what he wanted. He was nearly as bad as Amelia. Ahah, little Hanna would be at school next term and there was always Marilyn. Yes, yes she was an Healer at St Mungos, yes easier to get to her there. That would work; people would always do what you wanted when their Family was involved. How quaint…}.With a start Dumbledore focused again and said 'Yes what was that? Ah Amelia what can I do for you?'

Amelia frowned and glared at him and repeated 'I said we are ready to witness Lord Abbots' oath now if you are ready?'

'Yes, yes of course' he replied 'Lots of business to cover'

'The members and proxies of the Wizengamot in attendance await the Ministerial Oath of Office from Lord George Stephen Abbott, Earl of Dartmouth'

George stood up in the middle of the chamber floor with his wand held diagonally across his chest and stated 'I George Stephen Abbott hereby vow on my magic and my honour to uphold the customs and traditions of our society, ensuring just rule of law and the rights of individuals of the Magical Dominion of Great Britain including Ireland. I promise to support justice for all citizens and subjects within this Dominion, from injustice, exploitation, corruption, abuse, libel, slander or misinformation, regardless of their means, status or beliefs. Whist endeavouring to ensure the safety of those same citizens and subjects, from harm or oppression be it internal or external in origin to that same Dominion. Whilst fostering the growth and healthy development of our society by rewarding competence, ability, hard work and innovation for the betterment of the majority. So I do swear, so mote it be.' There was a brilliant flash of white light and a new minister was accepted. At that, 37 year old Lord George Abbott, walked to his seat next to Amelia, the 3rd youngest minister ever.

There was silence for just a split second, before polite clapping was heard followed by louder clapping and cheers. It appeared that the people were very happy with this new and very different minister.

The press on the other hand were just a little concerned did that mean he was going to interfere with the way they reported the news, he wouldn't dare would he? hmm.

Dumbledore on the other hand was more than a little nervous, this could be bad, very bad. Obviously George was even more independent than he thought. Mmm I wonder if it's too late to arrange an accident. That would have to be considered.

Dumbledore looked around and called 'I now bring those assembled to order, as the business of this emergency meeting has been addressed I suggest we continue with our scheduled meeting next Monday 23rd of May 1994.' He was about to close the meeting with a bang of the traditional gavel when Narcissa stood up and his day got much worse.

Narcissa stood to address the chamber 'Before you close Chief Warlock Dumbledore, I feel it is imperative that I raise this issue now, so that it can be investigated fully before our next assembly' she did not pause to give him chance to interject but continued 'On receiving his emancipation, my illustrious young Godson became aware of certain irregularities with the management of his financial affairs. Together with the misappropriation of some of his family's priceless and unique heirlooms and other questionable actions, by his previous Wizengamot appointed Guardian. He wishes this to be investigated to the full extent of the law and trusts that this body will deal with the results of the investigation in an appropriate manner.' She paused briefly before resuming with 'He feels that as this body was responsible for the the illegal appointment and disregarding of his parents Magically Appointed guardians. That we are required to resolve this matter. With a flash a pile of documents appeared in front of the Minister Abbott, Madam Bones and Secretary Crossley. They immediately began to read them.

Dumbledore was in panic, although the smile was still on his face closer scrutiny would have shown a very slight tremor to his hands and a faint sheen of moisture on his brow.

He needed to control this quickly he realised, so with that he said in his best Grandfatherly voice. 'Now Lady Narcissa, I am sure there has been an error here and small things have merely been misplaced or overlooked, don't you think? You know how teenagers are of course very careless, I…' He was just about to carry on when Amelia interjected with;

'Chief Warlock Dumbledore I hardly call 28 million galleons a small over sight and do not believe it would be possible to misplace some of the items on this list, not to mention attempted line theft.' At this she gestured to Senior Aurors Shacklebolt and Dawlish, who came forward to stand by Dumbledore.

Minister Abbott then spoke 'I believe in view of this Chief Warlock Dumbledore I must propose that you stand down from you post whilst this investigation takes place.'

Immediately Malcolm Parkinson stood and said seconded.

'Accepted'. Was the response by Amelia as Albus could not respond, she continued with 'Gentlemen if you could escort Mr Dumbledore to interview room 1, please take the appropriate precautions. I believe we can have this issue resolved in time for the next assembly'.

Before he could respond, magic suppression cuffs were put on Dumbledore and he was led away protesting it was a mistake he was Albus Dumbledore etc, etc, he was immune to prosecution.

The Wizengamot members and the spectators in the gallery were struck dumb for the moment. Before, erupting in a cacophony of raised voices. Minister Abbott let this go on for just a few seconds whist his allies observed the responses of some individuals very closely (they now needed to find Dumbledore's supporters to negate them in some manner. After that time he set off blue sparks and a series of loud bangs with his wand and shouted

'Silence this is a solemn assembly not a quidditch match.' With that rebuff there was predominantly quiet with soft whispers in the gallery. He continued 'I believe we need to appoint a temporary Chief Warlock or Witch until this situation has been resolved.' He looked around and then said 'I call for nominations, to be seconded and voted upon within the next 10 minutes, before we close this emergency assembly.'

Again there were discussions in small groups. At the end of the 10 minutes George again spoke 'Nominations will be heard now.'

At this Lord Avery stood up and said 'I nominate Lord Rosier.' A 110 year old supremacist this was followed by 'Seconded' by Wilfred Bole, Head of Department of Magical Transport and one of the targets of the group to …Ummm yes, resign and fade away.

Then Lord Boot stood with 'I nominate Lord Smith.' This was quickly seconded by Amos Diggory.

Finally, the cat was set amongst the mice when Sophia Zabini was the one to say languidly 'I nominate Lady Augusta Coker-Longbottom.' An equally relaxed 'Seconded' came from of all people Lucius Combe-Malfoy, renowned Dark supported.

Minister Abbott took over with 'Votes will be cast as before with green for Lord Montague, red for Lord Smith and blue for Lady Coker-Longbottom.'

Again people avidly tried to follow the number of votes cast by the colours.

Once the scroll appeared before George he quickly followed procedure and stood to read the results. 'The results of the Wizengamot vote for temporary Chief Warlock or Witch is as follows. All of the available 44 votes have been cast and have been recorded as follows; Lord Thaddeus Rosier 8 votes, Lord Benjamin Smith 9 votes, Lady Augusta Coker-Longbottom, 27 votes. By an overwhelming majority, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Lady Coker-Longbottom, Dowager Countess of Durham, Baroness Pontfract, to her new position as Chief Witch of the Wizengamot. If you would take your position, please My Lady.'

With that Augusta curtsied to the Minister and walked to the now Chief Witches seat.

The minute she got there she sat down and said in her brisk no nonsense voice 'Witches and Wizards of the Wizengamot, it has been a long emergency session of this assembly so I shall be brief. I now place this assembly into adjournment until the next scheduled meeting on Monday 23rd May 1994.' With that the gavel went down and as Aries would say 'Mischief Managed'

…

AN: seems logical to stop there Dumbles getting a bit and some minor action.

Please let me know if there are big holes or inconsistencies in it (brains a little pain killer soaked today) and I'll try to plug them. BTW I know the dates are not Lexicon compliant.

Thank you for the reviews they are appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 7

Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world.

**A Note: This chapter has been edited and re-written in places, although its fundamentally same there are some quite distinct changes.**

Thank you for reading and feedback.

Chateaux Chambord 730 am CET Monday May 16th 1994 

Ari Potter-Black strolled down the, the 2nd floor hallway leading from his suite at the corner of the where the south wing met the central section of his châteaux? No too pompous, house? Not quite right, Palace hmm, accurate but too ostentatious, home? Yes that fit. His home was quite simply beautiful, he had woken this morning to the rising sun and walked out of the huge doors to the eastern aspect of the bedroom and spent almost 30 minutes just looking at the rising sun and the river below, before forcing himself to move and get on with his morning routine.

Now as he made his way to the family dinning room for a quick greeting of any guests their before his run, he paid more attention to his surroundings than he had the previous day.

All of the floors except some of the ground floor areas, which were polished marble. The floors were polished wood parquet of a soft golden colour. He had discovered it was sweet chestnut, that had come from a huge wood on the edge of the estate. Originally planted to be coppiced for vine supports, some of the trees had been allowed to grow as single trunk trees. So when the then Duke, Armand was building his home and had run a bit low on funds, these trees had been used instead of buying timber. It also helped to explain why that wood had responded so well to him when he was making his new wand.

The walls seemed to be all half marble with painted plaster relief and a lavish use of gold gilding that might explain the lack of galleons.

The ceilings were also sections of gilded plaster relief, interspersed with actual paintings, again in the baroque style.

There were also large paintings of people and landscapes in between the huge almost floor to ceiling windows. Most of the windows, having deep embrasures and seats overlooking the gardens on the west side of the house.

He had learnt that the upper floors alternated. Where the ground floor had room overlooking all aspects, the rooms on the first overlooked the gardens, the second and family rooms overlooked the river and the third again the gardens. The fourth floor was the work rooms and elves quarters.

He stopped as he was walking and stood looking out over the beautiful formal gardens, he was really looking forward to exploring them later and look more closely at some of the fountains and sculptures he could see from where he stood. Further away to the south west, he could also see the wood, well forest really from what he could see and decided that was where he would head for his shorter than usual run this morning. It would be so much better out in the warm mid-May air rather than running around an indoor track as he had the last 3 years and about 48 hrs.

SBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSB

Ari was not aware that someone had been studying him for the last few moments.

Susan Bones had left her bedroom? Suite? Bloody luxury apartment more like, about 5 minutes ago she was comfortably dressed in long shorts to just above her knees, a V neck sky blue top with a dark blue TT of the Tutshill Tornados on it and a pair of low muggle trainers, called sketchers of all things . Elves really were life savers she must thank them for fetching her clothes while she was asleep.

She was not expecting to meet anyone as she walked along the hallway that she remembered led to the dinning room, when she saw the vision of her betrothed stood looking out of a window at the gardens below. She had to admit she had the shock of her life last night when she saw him.

He showed little resemblance to the boy she had seen a short 3 days previously. She had thought he was gorgeous last night but this morning wow, I mean wow. He was beautiful. She felt her pulse rate rise and an ache in her lower stomach. Phew come on girl calm down, she told herself and studied him like she had last night.

His physique which had been only hinted at under formal robes, was displayed to perfection today. His thick silky black curls were secured in a low tail with a white metal ring, that looked suspiciously like mithril and fell between his shoulder blades. His broad shoulders and tapering waist were emphasised by a T shirt that she knew was in the Caerphilly Catapult colours. She took in the lean toned muscles in those same shoulders and his arms, as he stood with his hands in the pockets of three quarter length muggle style exercise pants.

This just increased her heart and breathing rate as it pulled the pants taut across those perfect buttocks. He wasn't even 14 yet, Merlin help her in a year's time when he began to really mature. She forced her eyes away from the view and was just scanning down muscled thighs and calf's when she realised he was turning around. Looking up quickly with a blush she met brilliant emerald green eye's and saw his lips curve upwards in lopsided smile, that her Aunt could have told her was a pure Potter genetic trait. She blushed even harder before starting to stutter a greeting.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ari turned away from the window to continue on his way when he saw Susan studying him from about 10 feet away. As he smiled at her she blushed even brighter and began to stutter. In order to negate her embarrassment he ignored this and greeted her lightly 'Morning Susan do you want to hunt down breakfast together' he asked before continuing 'believe it or not I've only spent about half a day longer here than you have.'

When she didn't answer immediately he walked towards her and gently took he hand before bowing over it and softly brushed it with his lips. Standing straight again without releasing her hand he said 'Shall we proceed demoiselle?' at her nod he place her hand in his crook of his arm and gently led her towards the stairs.

A few seconds later Susan had regained her composure enough to say 'Forgive me Ari, I'm not awake properly yet.' Then she sighed and said 'No let's start again good morning Ari, I'm wide awake and embarrassed to be caught admiring the view of you're new improved seeker form. But Caerphilly really Aries what are you thinking.' Looking up through her eyelashes she gave a cheeky grin and laughed at his blush.

Ari recovered much quicker though and grinned the patented Potter grin, that would put anyone who knew him on guard and said 'Not at all divine one as long as you don't mind me reciprocating.' Lifting her hand again to place a definite kiss on it and then place it back on his arm, just as they went through the doors of the dinning room, totally oblivious to the gaping audience, of Gruoch, Pansy, Neville, Marilyn Abbot and Draco.

They briefly caught each others eyes again and both began to laugh. As they became aware of the looks of some of the audience they just laughed harder and had to stop to get their breath. Susan slapped Ari's arm to which he gave a look of mock hurt pout and with twinkling eyes winked and grabbed her hand again before gently pulling her to the table.

As they sat together in 2 empty chairs at the table Ari looked around quickly noticing who was there and said 'Morning everyone.'

With that he reached for the orange juice and some sliced banana, before Draco caved and said 'What have you done now Aries?'

'Who, me?' he asked with that grin and twinkling eyes 'Nothing Drake just discussing the appreciation of a good view with Lady Susan…oh and we hadn't quite finished our discussion on quidditch teams….so to answer Sue I wasn't thinking, my mum was. Caerphilly were apparently James' team, she brought them for a Yule present in 78, same as Sirius and Appleby. It was to make it up to them both for turning down pro player contracts to become Auror's. That is according to her journal.' He then began to eat his banana and took a deep drink of juice.

Draco just shook his head and muttered about 'Bloody little brothers and bloody uncles who didn't support proper team.'

Harry finished his juice quickly and stood up saying 'If you'll excuse me ladies, Drake, Nev. I'm just going to have a quick run before breakfast. I thought everyone should take it easy this morning; we could meet up again at about 930 in the drawing room ladies, to discuss the lesson schedule and meet as a group at lunch, if that's OK with everyone?' After a chorus of agreements from his guests Ari added 'Please call Jules or Jacques if you need anything' and left walking quickly.

There was a moments silence and Marilyn Abbott broke the silence with 'He's too young for this responsibility.'

Gruoch nodded and was about to reply when a voice behind them was heard, and every one looked around and focussed on the portrait of a distinguished looking middle aged wizard in Slytherin regalia, sat at a desk with an open book.

'He is young, but he won't break again and he is the best equipped to fix the mess Albus and others of his ilk have caused.'

Gruoch, Pansy and Draco immediately recognised who this was it was Gruoch who spoke up and said 'Headmaster Black it is an honour to meet you again.'

Phineas nodded his head politely and said 'Gruoch Belton, Slytherin class of 77. I was very proud of you my dear. Yes a perfect Slytherin.'

Marilyn spoke up then and asked 'What did you mean Lord Phineas, 'he will not break again''. Phineas looked at the 4 teens as if considering something then appeared to make a decision and straightened in his chair.

'I mean dear Lady Abbott that Sirius' death, closely followed by Albus' and his supposed friend betrayal broke something in young Aries. When I first saw him in his 1st year he had an endearing innocence, a total lack of selfishness or conceit and for lack of a better word a lovable quality as well as a vulnerability about him, that I don't think I have ever seen the like of in any other child, of either gender. That innocence has now gone completely; he now proud of his accomplishments and accepts praise gracefully.

He still is lovable, as any child of those 3 parents would be. But one thing he is not is vulnerable. He will not allow it.

He sighed and said 'Aries was 20 feet from reaching Slytherin's chamber and becoming a Dark Lord, one who would have ruled this world, if I had not seen the danger and intervened and if a small dedicated elf had not made a request of Lady Hogwarts.'

He stopped and thought as though considering again and then smirked and spoke in a smug tone 'He is much, much more now than many people will ever realise. He is really bright almost on Liliane's genius level, he is at 13 magically stronger than Tom Riddle or Albus were at their peak…. He has many attributes that I will let you discover. But you do need to know a couple of things he is totally dedicated to fixing the magical world. Most importantly he is now totally ruthless; he does not trust easily, give clemency, second chances or reprieves. He fully intends to do to Albus as Albus has done to him (and others) and take away everything he has one thing at a time, finishing off with his Great, Granddaughter and his dream of a lasting legacy. Do not let Amelia's misplaced ideals get in the way she will not win in a battle of wills and the resulting rift would be permanent. Never, never, let yourselves forget, that he is the direct descendant and the primary heir of Salazar as well as Godric.'

All those present were considering what they had just heard from the 'person' who knew Aries best. They were not aware that the rest of the house party was just outside the doors but the sly old Slytherin was. The snake who had slithered into his portrait had told him 10 minutes ago so they had also heard most of this.

Phineas Nigellus Black, Salazar's descendant said 'I have one more important thing to say for now. Young Susan you and your 2 sister wives will have the most important role in what lies ahead of you. Aries has a huge capacity for love. If you gain it you will never want for anything at all for the rest of your or his life, but and this is serious do not and do not let your Slytherin sister play games with him. Your Veela sister will not be a problem, her Veela already accepts and calls to him. Remember he is a 13 year old boy who has never experienced love of any description. As you found earlier if you are honest and open with him he will reciprocate in kind and be an excellent friend as well. Play games with him and you will find a young man calved of frozen diamond, he will get his heir of that contract, whilst you get a barren life, a cold bed and dead lovers if you take them. So I beg of you talk to them and discuss what I have told you, as I stated earlier; he does not trust easily, give clemency, second chances or reprieves…. Yes, right, enough of this old windbag I leave you to your day.' With that he walked out of the picture.

The tables' occupants looked up at each other and then to the door way where the rest of the party were coming in together and they realised they had been listening for a while.

Gruoch Parkinson spoke up before anyone else could with 'Morning everyone Ari went for a run just over half an hour ago and told us to carry on and not wait, he should be here soon.'

With this all the teens nodded and the ladies smiled. Message received this was privileged information and not meant for open discussion.

A white faced Daphne and a thoughtful Fleur automatically headed for Susan and sat either side of her.

Susan looked both of them in the eyes before she said out loud. 'You know Fleur, Daphne we're probably going to be spending the rest of our lives living together. I think we really need to start getting to know each other. Don't you think?'

Fleur answered first saying 'Oui, yes I mean we can talk in my room after breakfast. Yes?'

Daphne spoke for the first time and with a small smile said 'Yes that's a great suggestion we can always talk more after lunch as well. What do you think?'

By this time the others were all relaxing and chatting lightly or in the case of the ladies they were talking about planning the lessons.

Not surprisingly Anthony, Blaise, Neville and Draco were sat together. They were rather nervous, when they saw how the girls were sitting. It seems they had the same idea as Susan, Fleur and Daphne, and were getting to know each other.

With the result, that Pansy was talking to Astoria and Gabrielle, causing Neville to gulp. Whilst, the occasional glances they were sending, were not only directed at Neville himself, the trio were also looking over at Anthony as well. This was making both of the boys very apprehensive of what they were planning.

Neville knew he needed another betrothed and Anthony knew he needed to get betrothed,

preferably to a girl who wasn't a primary heir. They both knew they would be stupid not to consider the 2 younger unattached girls in their new group. Particularly, given that they met all the criteria they needed, Neville for a second wife and Anthony for his only one.

From the little they could interpret it looked like the girls were discussing that very subject.

It's not as if the girls weren't attractive, they were, in fact they were both very attractive, with the promise of the beauty their older sisters had.

In fact, Neville had found his eyes returning to look at Astoria, both last night and this morning. He even acknowledged that he felt a pull to her as he did to his beautiful, sable haired, hazel eyed, sophisticated Pansy.

Astoria in fact looked a lot like Daphne had at her age, except for her colouring. She had her mothers blond hair and her fathers blue eyes, the exact opposite to her sister who had her fathers black hair and mothers violet eyes.

Unlike Daphne however, Astoria was a friendly outgoing chatterbox. With no trace of pure-blood princess in her demeanour. Mmm, Neville mused to himself, wasn't her birthday December 1st ... that would make her only 4 months younger than he was. Yes... mmm...possibly... maybe, he'd talk to his gran later. With a nod to himself, Neville looked back down and concentrated on finishing his breakfast.

Just as Neville seemed to have noticed Astoria, Anthony was struck by the petite perfection that was Gabrielle. Truthfully, she was a tiny copy of her sister and would be just as beautiful when she went through her maturity sometime in the coming year.

He knew from talking to her last night that she was similar to Luna and would be 14 on October 4th , making her just 2 months younger than he was with his 14th birthday on 6th July.

Yes, he had found her delightful the previous evening. She had a very inquisitive nature, asking questions about everything. She had the self assurance that only came from being secure in who she was, which was rather unusual in such a young girl. There was no doubt that she adored and had been indulged and pampered by everyone in her family. But, she did not appear to be petulant and demanding as others in her position would be. She also had a wicked sense of humor, particularly when the fun was at her sisters expense.

Altogether, Anthony found her delightful and he definitely felt attract to her, in fact on a couple of occasions he could have sworn his magic was actually reaching for her. OK he admitted, he did want to be near her, . Hmm...maybe he needed have to talk to his father about this, he wouldn't mind joining the rest of the boys in...what was it Draco called them again ? Oh yeh the 'damned and lucky club', yes he would talk to his dad tonight. With his ruminations completed and a decision made, Anthony took a long drink of orange juice and finished his croissant.

Blaise and Draco on the other hand were only slightly nervous at Luna and Hanna chatting together. The slightly naughty giggles emanating their girls was the reason why the boys were nervous. Both of them knew that these two sometimes shared ideas on how to keep their betrothed off balance and on their toes, what was worse was they never knew what it was until it hit them.

Draco looked at his best friend Blaise and whispered 'Are we really that whipped?'

In response Blaise looked across the table at Hanna, who catching him looking, pouted and then sent him a very impish grin, he gulped nervously and whispered back 'Oh yeh, bro we are, ' he heard Hanna's distinctive naughty giggle and 'Yeh, we definitely are.' All Draco could do after he received the same treatment was sigh, nod in agreement and carry on eating his breakfast.

Anthony, who had been quiet for a while sipping his orange juice, looked over at the girls again and tilting his head to one side. Whilst still looking thoughtful he said softly but so the three other boys could hear. 'You know, I think I'm going to have a little chat with dad tonight.' Stopping to considered something for a moment, he looked at Neville and continued 'What about you Bro? Can't have Aries being the only double damned and lucky bastard here, can we?'

At that the other boys all started to laugh while, Neville, blushing hard couldn't get past stuttering.

That was when a voice from behind them said 'What's set you lot off? and what have you done to break Nev?' The other 3 boys just laughed harder and Draco indicated the chair between him and Neville saying 'Ari, come sit and we'll tell you the tale of how our lucky brothers's here and their imminent admission to the ranks of the damned and lucky.'

Ari nodded to the group and with a general greeting to the ladies, sat and reached for oatmeal, fruit salad, croissants and blackberry preserves. Before pouring a large cup of latte coffee and beginning to eat.

He was dressed the same as earlier except that the pants were linen and the shirt was a sky blue with golden arrows for the Appleby Arrows.

Most of the group had finished eating and were chatting over coffee when Celia Greengrass said 'I think you lot can run along now, explore your new school and get to know each other. Aries that includes you, we' she indicated the other ladies and herself 'just need to know when your beast and herbology masters are available and we can work out the schedule.'

He was about to answer, when Hedwig, his beautiful snowy owl swooped in though the open French doors and landed in front of him. On looking closer, he could see she was carrying a letter and was more tried than he could ever remember her being.

Most of the teens had seen Hedwig before, although none except Neville had seen her up close. As Ari took the letter from the leg she held out, the girls cooed and Appoline put most of the ladies thoughts into word by exclaiming 'What a beautiful Owl.'

Ari looked up after petting her and giving her some bacon and juice, said 'This is my familiar Hedwig who has just done something ridiculously stupid' at that the owl in question took off to beat him around the head with her wing, whilst clicking her beak at him. As the others laughed he tried to placate his irate owl 'Alright Hed, Alright I'm sorry really I am, yes you're my best girl, but it was dangerous.' Bark, bark 'I know your clever and fast. But what if Dumbledork had seen you or the traitors, they could have hurt you.' Bark, click 'I know but its true.' The owl gave a soft wuff at that and settled to preen under his ministrations.

Another wuff and an affectionate peck on hod finger, she flew over to the perch that Polaris had used the night before and tucking her head under her wing went to sleep.

Looking up from the letter, Ari saw everyone looking at him expectantly; he said 'Hedwig has just come from Hogwarts, the letters from Fred and George Weasley'.

At that there were some exclamations of dismay before Ari calmed everyone down and told them the gist of the letter.

He told them 'The short version is. They have been suspicious of their younger siblings behaviour towards me for some time; apparently Gin-Gin, Ronnikins and Bushy the Beaver don't support me in my absence and contributed to the heir of Slytherin mess last year. The say quote the 'bushy beaver' and' general laughter was heard at that from the ex-Hogwarts teens 'Mmm where was I, oh yes, Bushy is worse than the other 2...mmmm ah...their siblings have too much money available to them to have gained it legitimately and they've found all 3 going through my trunk at times… Mmm apparently some of my assignments the Bushy Beaver checked she changed to the wrong answer…hmm yes I knew that.'

'All of this got put together when they hid from the trio yesterday evening when Gred and Forge were setting a prank.. typical twins.. and they heard confirmation that they are spying for Dumbles, the little Weasels are being paid for this. Apparently when I'm found I'll be going straight back to the Dursley's who are under instructions to be particularly 'strict' this year. ..Oh and being paid a bonus for the extra effort.' He stopped and snorted before muttering 'Effort, as if, their favourite bloody summer hobby more like. Anyway. Apparently the plan is for me to be 'rescued' and taken to burrow on 1st August so Bushy the Beaver will have time to sympathise and get close to me. If I don't respond fast enough' snort mutter 'as if' 'they have blood keyed potions a loyalty one and a mild love potion to give me. Mmm Ha! Here it is, they can't use anything that lingers in the system or a spell because the marriage contract they need me to sign would reject the signature. Apparently it would be classified as signing under coercion. Hang on they couldn't speak earlier because momma Weasel put them under something called 'Matriarchal control'. This is apparently weakening now its near the end of term and has to be renewed. What the hells Matriarchal control?'

It was the quiet very ladylike Celia Greengrass who exclaimed 'That evil, vile, despicable, loathsome bitch. She's mine, she is definitely mine. How could she do that to her own children? Her own, precious children, I ask you !' Gruoch Parkinson and Appoline who were sat beside her put their arms around her and tried to sooth her, she was shaking with rage and magic was beginning to swirl around her.

It was Marilyn Abbott who answered the question. 'It's the equivalent of a familial imperious curse but with no defence from it. You cannot stop it with occulemency or a very strong will, unlike the imperious itself. It binds children to be loyal, obedient and submissive to their mother's wishes and to act in their mothers best interests at all times. It is very, very dark and has been illegal since 1174 when Eleanor of Aquitaine cast it on her sons, causing them to revolt against their father Henry II. Its actually mentioned in old books as the first Unforgivable Curse and being found guilty of using it results in an automatic life sentence in Azkaban, if you are lucky. It's very rare, almost unheard of for it to fail.'

The general responses from her listeners were various, rather profane exclamations. However, Ari said 'Do you think Aunt Celia wants any help because, according to the twins they're the only Weasleys in school under the curse, they think Bill was but he's a curse breaker for Gringotts and hasn't been home since the day after he left Hogwarts.'

'Anyway they've told me to stay where I am and keep away from their family, bushy and Dumbles. They will contact to me again in November when they're of age so they can join me and disavow their family. I am not to contact them at all they can't keep secrets from their mother and so I can't trust them. Oh and finally the plastic trio, are currently being hosted by madam Pomfrey who has been unable to undo all the spells the twins hit them with. That's about it.' The teens laughed at the last bit of information, thinking what they could possibly have been hit with for the renowned school matron to be unable to fix.

Draco took the letter scanning it and nodding, as he reached the end he smirked and drawled 'And of course they love their black haired little brother.' Ari blushed and grabbed for the letter

He paused then and said 'Right to get back on track what were we saying about the rest of the morning?'

'Oh Aries, I'm sorry' Celia had now regained her composure said in a sweet venomous voice. 'and of course you can help deal with what was it, oh yes Momma Weasel, Gruoch and Appoline are coming as well.' She smiled then and continued normally with ' We only need to know when the Herbology and Beast Master's are available and you can go with the other boys and leave us to work the schedule out.'

Ari responded with 'I look forward to our trip.' with his own predatory smile before answering her question 'Oh that's who I went to see on my run today. We will have to take a portkey or flue' grimace 'they both suggest the last session before lunch and a longer lunch break that day to let us get cleaned up properly.'

Celia looked around at the other ladies who all nodded in agreement and said 'That's fine you carry on now young ladies and gentlemen and have fun for the next 3 hours. She hadn't stopped yet though and looked at Neville and Pansy and said 'By the way you two I approve.' She smiled a wicked smile and winking, causing the two mentioned to blush slightly and Astoria to smile widely.

Before the others could laugh and leave though, Appoline spoke up and looking Anthony directly in the eye she said 'As do I, providing the Veela is happy.' This time the result was a blushing Anthony and smiling vigorously nodding Gabrielle.

With that, the teens shot out of the room in various directions. The girls were faster than the boys however as they had already discussed what they were going to do so had headed in the direction of the agreed upon suites, these being; Susan's, Luna's and Pansy's. They all wanted privacy for their discussions and the Delacour and Greengrass sisters were sharing their suites, as they always did anywhere other than home or school. Additionally, they had decided they wanted to sit on the charmed balconies overlooking the river, rather than the view of the estate from the South Wing.

Draco spoke up for the boys and said 'So little Bro didn't you say there was a quidditch

pitch here.' Anthony and Blaise nodded vigorously, Neville becoming a little green in the

face.

'Yes, it's the other side of the north wing.' He continued 'According to Jules it was updated by Sirius and the instructions where that every year the brooms had to be updated to the latest models. Don't worry Nev there are some older training ones as well. We can get you over your experience with the knackered school brooms. Trust us OK. We wouldn't let our brother fall. Would we Drake?'

Draco's response was immediate and he threw and arm round Neville's shoulders 'Of course not Ari, come on other little bro its time to fly.' Then said, 'What brooms are there Ari? 2001's, Cleansweep 7s, Comet 480s?'

Walking along the corridor, leading the others Ari turned back and with a smirk drawled in an imitation of Draco at his worst 'Don't be so plebeian my dear brother, of course not. One has to have a proper broom you know' with a very well timed pause he continued 'You cannot expect me, me! To lower by standards. Its obvious I demand nothing else is but, a... Firebolt .'

With that, a shout of 'REALLY! COOL!, Outstanding! Quick hurry up! and 'Merlin have mercy.' the other three grabbed Ari and Neville and dragged them down the hallway to the doors they could see leading outside to the north of the châteaux.

….

AN. Seemed a logical break point. A bit of a filler to develop the relationships and friendships. Next time more of that with the onus on Ari and his betrothed'. Molly's bad and the twins are on Ari's side but trapped for the moment.

Thank you everyone for your comments and for pointing out the errors. Please continue to do that, sometimes its hard to catch them from the skim read I usually.

Please let me know if the editing has improved the flow.

Thanks for reading.

Lynn


	8. Chapter 8

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 8 (lightly edited)**

Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world.

Chateaux Chambord; 2nd Floor, Susan Bones Suite, 1030am May 16th 1994

While their betrothed was being dragged along a hallway on the ground floor of his home.

Three young Ladies, capital L, were relaxing in comfortable padded steamer chairs on a 2nd floor balcony over looking the river about 60 feet or 18.3 metres below. It was quiet and restful in the late morning sun, with a slight breeze blowing and the sun moving slowly around to their left.

They were Fleur Appoline Delacour a 16 and a half year old half Veela, who was currently AWOL from her 5th year of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. All in all a very beautiful young woman with a perfect oval face framed by long silvery blond hair, held back in a pony tail by a platinum band, clear aquamarine eyes framed by long dark, gold dusted eyelashes. She was arguably the most beautiful of the three with a tall slender perfectly proportioned, toned body.

Next to her were Susan Amelia Bones and the current 'owner' of this suite, 14 years and 2 month old, like her companion she was AWOL from her school but in her case it was her 3rd year and was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a contrast to her blond companion; an elfin face was surrounded by riotous curls of dark auburn red hair, that had escaped the single thick braid that fell the length of he back. Her large navy blue eyes were accentuated by curled thick dark eyelashes with a hint of mischief in their depths, she was tiny compared to both of her companions with a figure rapidly developing voluptuous curves on her petite frame. She was a gorgeous.

The final young woman was again different from her two companions Daphne Marie Greengrass at 14 years and 1 week old was the youngest of the three, she like her companions was AWOL from her 3rd year at Hogwarts her oval aristocratic face contrasted with her silky blue black hair, held back on either side by two mother pearl combs, which accentuating her high cheekbones and matching the long thick eyelashes framing deep violet almond shaped eyes, although taller than her red-haired companion, her figure she still gave the impression of sylphlike curves. She like her companions was beautiful and gave the impression of budding sensuality that the others lacked.

They poured themselves tall glasses of iced water or juice, which had been brought by an elf when they arrived. Then got down to their reason for being here, namely getting to know each other and how they were going to deal with their betrothed.

Susan who was technically the hostess decided to break the silence that had settled on them with 'Hi Fleur I'm Susan Bones, I'm 14, an orphan….. and they were off.

After about 30 minutes they had broken the ice and opened up to each other, knew the basics of their respective lives, including a few personal things and had all settled back and relaxed.

Then Susan again spoke up and said 'OK, let's get to the reason for our new friendship. Fleur, Daph, what do you think of our future husband?'

It was Fleur who started with 'When I saw him I was surprised, I had seen pictures of him only a few months ago and he was a scruffy, little boy. Now, ca alors! Ce magnifique. He is gorgeous, my Veela is very happy I am betrothed. When I spoke to him at dinner he was so nice and very kind to Gabrielle, he is so.. compatissante. He is not affected by the allure, not at all; no boy has been able to resist it, ever.' Taking a breath she went on 'That is why I have no friends at school for now 3 years; the boys all follow the allure, the girls think I steal their boys. But, then I see his memories and I cry then for the little boy who could not be a child. He is strong, determined, and passionate; he is funny, proud, intelligent and so much more. But he is so very powerful I can feel his magic when I enter a room and when he is close ca alors! it is overpowering, he is our leader. The adults they defer to him he will lead us to a new how you say.. ah oui golden age yes he will lead us.' She sighed and said softly 'I..I I think I already love him a little and it grows more every time I talk to him.'

She continued 'Like his mentor say we have to show him and tell him how we feel, we have to lead him to gentle things. He has never been loved so we need to love him.' At this last she looked her companions in the eye and asked them seriously. 'You need to ask yourselves, can you love him?'

Fleur stopped at that and poured herself another glass of water taking a sip she watched the other girls as they seemed to be deep in thought.

A few minutes later it was surprisingly Daphne who spoke 'I was brought up to be a Pureblood Princess as you may have gathered. I knew I was in a contract, mother told me when I was 10.' She smiled and giggled, then 'I had a tantrum that lasted 2 days because my dreams of 'true love' were destroyed, even though mother assured me that our magic was so compatible our aura's used to connect and meld together when we were babies. I hated my future husband because he had stopped me finding my true love.' She sighed and said 'I was totally irrational and became cold with others especially boys. I wasn't told until my Hogwarts letter came who I was betrothed to, even then I was not told his real identity until Yule break. So when I found out, all of that childish anger was transferred to 'Harry Potter' and I was even more withdrawn,'

Pausing briefly she took a drink and carried on 'I like every other girl had read the story books when I was younger and expected this arrogant Griffindor hero, who dare I say it wasn't even a pure-blood.' She snorted then and considered again before continuing 'This was compounded when I was sorted into Slytherin and he went as expected to bloody Gryffindor. I don't think I ever spoke to him except to pass a snide comment our first year. But I did watch him and something was wrong. He was not as I expected and he definitely wasn't the arrogant brat I expected and that Snape said he was.'

Pausing again to think she continued 'I discussed it with Draco, because he the only one I knew who was one aware of the contract, we knew something was wrong and we couldn't get near him because of the beaver and the weasel.

It was the same 2nd year, except I was beginning to develop a bit of a crush on him by the last term, I had acknowledged that it was not his fault we were betrothed, how could it be we were babies. He is everything you say he is Fleur but he is also really sweet and a god on a broom.'

She smiled as she said 'But something changed with him this past year, he was slipping away from the guard dogs and vanishing, he was spending more time talking to his other year mates especially Neville'.' If you observe them they are really good friends.'

'My crush had become something else by the start of Yule break and I was watching him even closer, he was like a coiled spring and seemed much happy and lighter than he had been previous years. He had a major argument with beaver and weasel over a broom he had received, which lasted over a month when he wasn't talking to them. We know now that it was because of Sirius.'

'Then suddenly he seemed to vanish, Draco and I knew he was missing much sooner than anyone else. We had been watching him for so long, we just knew this was different, I don't know how, we just knew he wasn't somewhere sulking like the Weasel told everyone.' She again collected herself, before carrying on.

'Now after considering it and being closer to him with his magic unbound I know it's because we were aware of the loss of his magic in the castle. Does that make sense?' she asked, when the others nodded she resumed.

'It was when we heard the news about Sirius that we knew why he had vanished and that told us exactly what had happened. I was so worried. I admitted my feelings had changed.' She paused and took a long drink of iced water; her throat was so dry from her ramblings. She looked at Susan and then at Fleur and said 'You asked me if I could love Ari, my answer is the same as yours I already love him I have for months maybe longer. He makes my pulse race, my insides throb and my magic keeps reaching for his. He could be my world so I am going to be open, honest and affectionate, but I am going to be careful not to spook or upset him.' She suddenly smirked and ignored the single tear running down her face 'I do want a kiss though so any hints on how to get one or two or even a few more, would be gratefully received.' She looked at the others and they all began to giggle, before laughing till they were crying and holding their stomachs

Susan got herself under control and said 'Wow Daph, the Ice Princess has melted with a vengeance.' She smiled at Daphne and Fleur before taking a drink of grape juice and sitting up straight in her seat. When she spoke again it was in the most serious voice they had heard her use and began. 'I agree with everything you have both said about Ari so I won't repeat it. Aunty told me about the contract when I was 8 but, I didn't react like Daph I was so happy I was going to marry 'Harry Potter'. Our contract was set up for the same reason as Daphne's and I'm guessing yours Fleur, although you didn't mention it.' She looked questioningly at Fleur who nodded yes and Susan carried on.

'I watched all the time and always managed to sit close to him when we shared lessons. Hanna is the only one I told. We picked up very quickly that something was wrong and that he knew nothing about his family, his legacy or our world. He was so small and as you said scruffy. I ask you, how can the only heir of 3 of the biggest fortunes in the magical world dress worse than a beggar or' and she giggled 'a Weasley.'

'I reported to Aunty regularly, especially that he may have been mistreated, when he came back so thin at the beginning of the year.' With a snarl she said 'But, every attempt Aunty made to look into it met a dead end or a barrier. I knew I loved him at least a little when I saw his face, the day following the duelling club débâcle and almost the whole school turned on him. He looked …I don't know how to say it… so betrayed and empty, like Phineas said so 'broken', like his last illusion or dream had been destroyed. I just wanted to hug him and make it better to see him smile again and mean it.' She sighed and said with scowl 'I will never forgive the professors for not putting a stop to the blatant bullying and harassment he was put through during that time. I cried for him quite a lot over that period and got into so many fights with my house mates over it. I lost count of the number of times I hexed Smith during that year.'

'Anyway, I was over my crush completely by last September when our magic connected in transfiguration and I felt so gloriously happy that I realised I was in love with the boy, the person now. 'Harry' as we called him then, not the illusion and fairy tale boy- who-lived, but, Aries Potter my future husband.' She paused to take a drink before continuing.

'Since we've been here my reactions are getting stronger, if this continues I think I will probably have bonded with him magically before the summers out.' She took a deep breath and looking serious said 'I will not hurt him or see him hurt in any way, I will learn as much as I can to stand at his back, I will harm anyone who even tries to hurt him, I will support him and above all, I will love him.' To all of the girls surprise there was a flash of light and a golden aura surrounded her for a few seconds before sinking into her.'

They all looked shocked and Fleur stuttered 'vas zat, vos zat …wwwwas that what I zink it vas?'

Daphne just looked at Susan with mouth open, wide eyes and a shocked expression and shook me head muttering 'Merlins beard.. '

Susan looked just as shocked and took two attempts to clear her throat before hesitatingly saying 'I..I..I think I just made a vow. Oh …' after a minute she was the first to collect her composure and taking a deep breath said. 'I meant what I said, so the fact that it was accepted as a vow doesn't matter I would have done what I said anyway.' She finished with an emphatic nod.

Now Susan said, looking at the others who were now smiling at her. 'We know now that we all love Ari, we're probably even in love with him or on our way to being, so my sisters what's the plan for leading 'our' Aries down the path of love?' She finished with her mischievous dimpled grin and looked at her 'sisters'.

The other two looked a bit startled and then the same sort of grins developed on their faces, slowly leading to giggles and then outright hysterical laughter.

It was Fleur who gasped out 'Ok as the elder sister here. I think we should….'

They spent the next 2 hours discussing their plan of campaign to making Aries Potter –Black a very, very, very lucky boy.

Chateaux Chambord; same time, quidditch pitch

'Whoa…' was the exclamation from Anthony (call me Tony Goldstein), quietest of the 5 boys, reserve Ravenclaw Chaser and fanatic Harpies quidditch fan. 'This is bloody fantastic.' The other boys could only nod enthusiastically.

They had come out of a set of French doors from the north wing of the house and 30 metres in front of them they saw, a full sized perfectly maintained quidditch pitch complete with a large stand on either side.

Even Ari was lost for words, he hadn't had time yet to explore this side of his home, he decided to rectify that very soon [after all no-body knew that currently another him was working on his herbology practical work in the greenhouses a couple of miles to the south-west, the joys of owning a 24 hour capable time-turner and the cloak of invisibility]

As they reached a large broom shed? More like a display in Quality Quidditch Supplies.

There was a general discussion of whether they should just pass the quaffle, release a snitch, go for a modified keeper, 2 beaters and 2 chasers game or just fly. The problem was Neville really wasn't comfortable on a broom.

Before it could degenerate into a disagreement, Blaise (the politician) spoke up and said 'Why don't Neville and I take a couple of those Comet 200's I can see over there and I'll take him through the broom drills one on one? You guy's can then fly unfettered by us novices, oh and Drake, Tony.' As they looked up from the Firebolts in their hands at their names being called, Blaise continued 'I suggest, that you 2 just get used to those sticks before you even try to fly them against Ari, he's a natural you guy's aren't and if I can fall off a 2001 the first time I tried Drakes you will definitely part company from those.' He pointed to the brooms they were holding like they would never be parted from them.

Ari nodded and spoke up 'That's a great suggestion actually, I couldn't believe the difference to my old 2000, in fact acceleration wise there was no comparison.' He continued 'We can play another day perhaps with some of the girls. To be perfectly honest I prefer the flying to the game.' Blaise nodded in agreement, whilst Draco looked as if he was mad.

Tony just kept muttering 'He's mad…totally mad'.

In the end it was decided to go with Blaises' very sensible suggestions.

With that, Blaise led Neville to the side of the pitch to start covering the basics. Draco and Tony reverently mounted their brooms and taking the advise seriously (definitely not Griffindors) , they started getting used to the brooms. Ari left to himself, mounted his broom and shot into the air to do what he loved most fly.

With a whoop! He shot into the air, the other boys distracted from what they were doing stopped and watched enthralled. They had seen Ari fly during quidditch games of course and some of the feats he could pull off to catch the snitch had been impressive, but none of them had ever seen him just fly.

He really was a natural. At the moment he was spiralling vertically up into the air at an impossible speed just as he was close to the clouds hundreds of feet in the air he flipped over and shot across the sky in a blurring corkscrew roll, before plummeting downwards and hanging under his broom flew huge loops across the sky at an unheard of speed, before at the top of a loop plunging straight back down so fast as to appear a blur. He pulled out of the suicidal dive 3 feet from the ground, and stopped by the boys who stood there gaping at him.

With a wide smile and a totally happy look on his face he asked 'What, what's the matter?'

It was Neville who answered with 'Our brothers are just appreciating the difference between gods and mere mortals O divine one' giving a deep bow.

Draco managed to speak then. 'You, really, really, really can fly little bro.'

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

With that the other boys carried on with their plans for the next hour whilst Ari just flew familiarising himself with the estate and thinking about recent events. His thoughts however, kept coming back to his three betrothed.

Three! He thought who has 3 bloody wives. He sighed; he did apparently. As he lazily flew just above roof level around the garden, he spotted a maze which he decided to fly over. When he saw a rather beautiful, not to mention spectacular fountain and pool in the centre of a maze, he flew down to investigate.

Seeing a seating area around the pool he landed, deciding this would be a good place to sit and try to analyse his feelings about his 3 betrothed. As he sat down, a flash of bright gold light no bigger in size than a snitch suddenly appeared in the air over the hedge and shot straight at him, hitting him in the chest and vanishing. He didn't know what it was and had not had time evade it, but, it did not seem to have been anything harmful. In fact it had left a nice warm feeling; sort of dare he say it a feeling of being wanted or even loved. Oh well whatever it was it had felt nice.

Ari wasn't to know that just a few seconds ago a very emotional and passionate Susan Bones had been surrounded by a larger flash of magic exactly the same colour as this had been.

Feeling relaxed and at rest for the first time in … well too long to remember. Ari brought

his focus back on the issue that for some reason bothered him the most.

He had found out about his betrothals when he had been working through his family papers and ledgers in the room, quite early on in the first 'year'. He had immediately shouted for Phineas wondering what the bloody hell his parents were thinking to do this to him. He had been about to have a very rare full blown angst ridden tantrum, when Phin had calmed him down and explained about why his parents would have done this. How some individual family lines and legacies had and still were being lost because of repeated wars. How this was ultimately reducing the population size of the magical world. In fact if he wasn't corrected soon it would become unsustainable.

When Ari had queried why this was happening Phineas had explained; witches had to give up a significant proportion of their magic to support their unborn babies, thereby making them weaker and more vulnerable to attack. This was satisfactory in normal times. However, in times of unrest and war, when it would be dangerous to be without their full magic a witches body automatically went into a modified state of infertility to protect itself and its magic from being vulnerable.

Family magic ensured that she would have an heir to carry her blood and magic, but only one. If as could happen the heir died or both parents needed heirs to continue their family lines, then the second line almost always the mothers ended up being absorbed. This was how the Peverell line had been absorbed by the Potters who because of the unrest in the last 2 centuries had only had a single male heir since. So many families lost not killed (although some were) but lost because of a series of often powerful, but always power obsessed old men. This brought him back to his situation.

His 3 betrothed, where to start…Ok, name Chambord; Fleur, there was no doubt that she was an extremely beautiful young woman, who although fluent in English had a very dare he say sexy French accent. But, his overwhelming impression of her was that she was a genuinely nice person, who loved her family particularly her little sister very much. She had quick wit and a wicked slightly risqué sense of humour and a musical infectious laugh.

It had been a spur of the moment decision to sit by her last night at dinner, but he thought it would help him get to know her a little. It had, it had shown him a completely beautiful young woman, both inside and out. It had also contributed to his perplexed state.

He was never comfortable with girls like that, the Griffindor chasers had competitions to see who could make him blush the most. Hell lets face it until the curse on his growth had been removed he hadn't even started puberty, let alone experienced hormonal responses. But there he had been chatting easily and even flirting a little with a beautiful young woman 3 years older than he was.

This was perplexing because for all his knowledge and skills in magic, his experience with girls was that of a prepubescent boy, that is to say practically none existent.

However, when he had first gotten close to Fleur when he greeted her, there had been a funny feeling of familiarity, which he marked down to her possibly resembling someone he knew. Then when he had taken her hand to greet her, his finger tips had seemed to tingle, this had happened again when he had brushed his lips to her hand, he had experienced a tingling sensation, this time on his lips.

Not only that but when he sat by her, his magic seemed to be humming and happy; it wanted him to get closer to her and seemed to actually reach out to her. If they had touched, like when she had clasped his arm to emphasise something he had felt something like a small electric shock.

The most confusing thing though was that he, who after his experiences at Hogwarts did not give trust easily and never fully, had felt that he could totally trust this beautiful young woman who he had met for the first time 18 hours ago.

Something was going on, when all of this was added together there was definitely something happening. But what?

Then he came to Susan, a tiny adorable, pint sized Venus, who he found irresistible.

He had noticed Susan at school; she always spoke to him and was friendly to him.

She sat near in classes, even when Ron the Weasel frowned at her and was rude. In second year, even with all of her house seemingly turned against him, she and her friend Hanna had made a point of talking to him and assuring him they did not believe what others were saying about him.

As he thought about it now, he also realised that she had often looked at him with concern, particularly when he had been injured and at the beginning of term when he knew after a summer at the Dursley labour camp, he had not looked either fit or particularly well.

In other words, Susan had liked him and cared about his well being at school and if he was honest he had really liked her as well. It was obvious now that Susan had known about the contract, but she had not mentioned it and that did not totally explain why she was so nice to him. Especially when he thought of his other betrothed, he frowned at that, he would think about Lady Daphne in a minute.

For now back to Susan.

In his interactions with her since she arrived last night, he had been ever more comfortable than with her than he was with Fleur and when they had touched in any manner, he had felt small jolts of what could only be magic between them. If his magic hummed at Fleur it practically sang and pulsed near Susan. Yes, there was definitely something between them and it was developing fast. The thing is he really liked it; he wanted Susan to be his girl. There's a question could a betrothed be a girlfriend? He would have to ask someone… who though?

Anyway focus Ari, yes, he had defiantly enjoyed flirting with Susan this morning and he was quite pleased that she found him attractive as well. It had been very easy to laugh with her and he would have been quite content to spend the rest of the day getting to know her better. He had to admit he had really wanted to kiss her when they were close and that was definitely not like him.

Also, he had not wanted to part from her when they arrived in the dinning room this morning, mmm he had actually felt quite possessive and protective of her like she belonged to him and only him. Where, the bloody hell did that come from? He was not the possessive type at all. In fact he could never remember having that feeling before in his life.

Again like Fleur it was like their magic wanted to touch each other, but he could feel Susan's magic quite strongly and it seemed to mix with his whenever they were close to each other, it made him feel warm and comfortable. In fact it felt like that flash that hit him early, did she have some feelings for him…Hmm was he developing feelings for Susan, maybe, probably? Now that was definitely not normal, was it?

He sighed, now to the last of his betrothed, bloody buggering hell what were they thinking betrothing him to the bloody Ice Queen of Slytherin. He had to admit she was beautiful, Merlin yes, she was beautiful and the curves she had developed recently definitely affected his hormones. In his novice judgement and minuscule experience she was sexy as hell.

But she hated him! At school she had never actually spoken to him that he could remember. She had however, taken every opportunity to make snarky and derogatory comments about him in his hearing. Her usual behaviour if she was forced to work with him had been to sneer and ignore him.

It seemed obvious now that she had also known about the contract, but, unlike Susan she was not happy about it and had blamed him for it.

Mm.. that wasn't strictly true for this last year though was it? He had caught her looking at him a few times with a slight smile on her face, which changed if he caught her eyes and the sneer would return. What was happening with her?

Curiously, when they met last night she had been quite pleasant and only slightly withdrawn. She had not gone out of her way to seek him out; however, she had not ignored him if he had spoken to her.

Whilst, his magic had not reacted as strongly as it did to the other's, particularly Susan's, it had been a little excited? Yeah, that was about right, it had been somewhat excited when he greeted her and he did feel something of a pull towards her. He also found himself wanting to actually be near her. So, there was something there. But what 'it' was he had no idea?

He really needed to talk to somebody and an adult as well…mmmm who?

At that he sat for just a few minutes in the warm sun, listening to the water tinkling off the wings of the huge bronze central sculpture of a phoenix that was the centre piece of the fountain.

Waving his left hand and casting Tempus he saw it was 1240, so with a last look around and a sigh, he mounted his broom and flew back to the quidditch pitch and the boys.

When he got there, he saw they were all lounging in the stand nearest the house so landed by them and with a 'Hey guys, how's it going?' took a seat.

'Hi, bro' Neville said smiling 'Blaise is great, he showed me exactly what I was doing wrong and this brooms not bad either' said waving the Comet in his hand, he continued 'At least it went where I wanted it to.'

Ari laughed and said 'That's great Nev, so what position will you be playing?'

The other boys laughed at that and Draco volunteered 'He's not quite ready for that yet, but, my little bro did really well, he'll make a great beater with a couple of months training.'

They were just about to carry on when Polaris flamed in and landed in front of Ari looking in his eyes. Ari nodded and said 'Thanks Pol we'll be in.' With that the phoenix flamed away again and Ari looked at the others and said 'Most of the adults are back, shall we go and grab lunch and see what happened.'

'Great idea Ari' said Tony 'I'm starving, let's go.'

At their nods of agreement, they hurriedly made their way back to the house and the returning Wizengamot members and more importantly for most of the teens, lunch.

…

AN. A bit fluffy, but I wanted to get the basis for the main relationships going.

Next chapter will be the Wizengamot events, some more brotherly bonding and with Ari and the other boys. Thanks for reading and pointing out the errors, I really appreciate it and hope you will continue to do so. Thanks again- Lynn


	9. Chapter 9

**Rise of the Grey Lords chapter 9**

**Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world. **

AN: _Thank you for the reviews, I have gone back and re-edited all of the previous chapters and in some cases made quite substantial changes to them. Especially; chapters 1,4,5,6 and 7 and got rid of my old confusing notes file._

_Sorry for the delay, just discharged from hospital and another bout of neutropaenic sepsis._

_In addition laptop fell when the hospital bedside table broke so hubby had to buy me a new one (bye bye super business Vaio hello, very, very nice Samsung) and I had to find a compatible word processing program for Windows 7. _

_Need to rant here; I hate, loath and detest Office 2010 ! in fact my workplace (a 1300 bedded Major Regional Central Hospital) has refused to use 2010 at all. Its migraine inducing. Unfortunately, Office XP pro isn't compatible with Win 7, enough of rant. I have now discovered the lovely and FREE Open Office so have kicked my drug soaked brain back into gear again. Will be probably posting one a week from now on. Thanks again for reading and especially those that take the time to comment it is appreciated._

[Thoughts]

Châteaux Chambord; Monday May 16th 1250

Ari and the other boys arrived in the dinning room still laughing and teasing each other, as Ari did a quick scan of the occupants already there, he noticed that this included most of the Wizengamot adults, the only ones absent being; George Abbott, Amelia, Augusta and Marcel Delacour of course who as Head of the French DMLE would struggle to spend a lot of time at the châteaux. Most of the girls were there, in fact the only ones missing were his 3 [his three? when had he started thinking of them as his, hmf..]

Whilst most of the boys separated and sat by their respective or prospective betrothed,

Neville- Pansy and Astoria, Blaise- Hanna, Anthony- Gabrielle and Draco- Luna, although Neville and Anthony did look a little uncomfortable Ari noted. He would have to look into that, Ari having no ladies present and wanting to catch up on the outcome of the meeting, sat in the middle of the table close to Narcissa and opposite Lucius.

Ari had just begun to ask how things had gone from those adults who had returned, when Daphne, Susan and Fleur entered the room talking between themselves in a very friendly fashion.

Just as he had spotted them, the 3 girls had also spotted Ari and slightly changing the direction they had been heading, they instead walked towards him looking beautiful and he noted with some trepidation determined. However, after a general hello, they sat down; Susan beside him and Daphne and Fleur opposite. He received a pleasant smile and greeting from each of them, before they calmly starting to eat lunch and listening to the news.

When Ari heard that everything had gone to plan, with the added bonus that Dumblebore was in custody for investigation, he was ecstatic.

When the laughter at Dumbles misfortune had stopped however,Daphne frowned and looked at Lucius who had been talking, to ask ' What did the old coot mean by he is immune to prosecution?'

This caused all of the kids to look up questioningly. The response came from Richard Goldstein who sighed and said 'It appears that Fudge was even more of an idiot than we had thought and he gave Dumbledore a blanket pardon for actions defined as for the benefit of the Magical world.'

Pandemonium broke out at this and Ari abruptly stood up. He was shaking slightly as were the contents of the room and the windows, those around him could feel wave after wave of magic pulsing out from him. His face was an absolutely blank mask. He stood for a minuet breathing deeply while the room settled down and the feeling of pulsing magic stopped and sat back down.

He looked around and blushed before saying with a sheepish smile 'Sorry about that, I'm acting like a spoiled brat having a tantrum at getting its own way. I promise to behave now.' before carrying on calmly 'Oh well looks like locking him up to rot in Azkaban isn't an option now.' pausing to pick up his iced water he took a drink and said as if stating the obvious 'Oh well, I'll just have to kill him instead then'. Picking up another sandwich and starting to eat it with some enthusiasm.

The looks on the faces of the others though, ran the full gamut of expressions, from shock and uncertainty to approval. In fact, Xeno, Lucius and Narcissa looked positively gleeful. Narcissa, even going so far as to say ' You, will let me know if you need any help won't my darling?'

He laughed at that as did a few of the others, those not shocked that is and answered 'Of course my dear Aunt, anything to make such a lovely lady happy.' before kissing her lightly on the cheek and whispering for her ears alone 'Thank you.' Ari spoke up to address the group as a whole with 'There is something very important I need to bring up for discussion and planning.'

The rest of the news was relayed quickly after that with no further glitches and when Lucius had finished and the other adults had given their news on possible allies.

It was the quiet Hanna who spoke up with 'So Fudge resigned and Daddy's the new Minister, whilst, Aunt Augusta is the temporary Chief Witch, Dumbles and Umbridge are in custody for investigation and somehow our side gained 7 votes. Is that about it? Oh I forgot, Aries has moved Dumbles to his possibly to his definitely execute list.?' She then looked around questioningly.

There was genuine laughter from everyone around the table at this, relieving the somewhat tense and serious atmosphere and Blaise put his arm around her, kissing her cheek and said 'That's my girl, concise, intelligent and very beautiful as well.' This again caused those present to laugh and Hanna to blush even harder than she had been at the kiss.

It was Malcolm Parkinson who spoke up next and said 'Aries, there are a couple of things we need to confirm with you. The first is that George wants to appoint Gruoch as his senior under-secretary. As you know, this is one of the Head of Departments seats on the Wizengamot. It would give us another seat. The other thing is a proposal of how to discredit Dumbledore so he can be permanently removed from the Chief Warlock position.'

Ari looked at Lady Gruoch Belton-Parkinson, Countess of Lincon, Baroness Belton of Grantham and said 'That would be wonderful, if you are willing Lad... I mean Aunt Gruoch' quickly correcting himself at her frown.

Gruoch laughed her light musical laugh and said 'Oh Aries, I am the political one in our family whilst Malcolm is busy trying to make me the richest woman in the world.' continuing with 'I would love to get my hands on the ministry and get rid of the incompetence. The only thing we will have to do is rearrange your timetable and I believe having seen the 'muggle zone', that all of you could pass Muggle Studies on your own, with just a couple of supervised field trips.' She grinned and said 'In fact I think we will have trouble getting you lot and some of your fathers here out of that area once you've seen it.' This caused the other ladies who had not been at the Wizengamot to laugh and nod in agreement.

They all looked up at that with questioning expressions, until Celia Greengrass said 'There are all sorts of games and videos, DVD's, Television's, music etc., well you get the idea.'

Most of the people around the table just looked bemused except Ari, Blaise and the Parkinsons. In fact Pansy's response was a huge grin and 'Cool!'.

Before anyone else could say anything Gruoch interjected with 'Your parents were genius' Ari, they apparently spent a lot of time relaxing in the muggle world and were fascinated with the technology, especially Sirius. They developed a way to convert some items to work on magic using a combination of Charms and Runes, which with a small amount of shielding will work in all magical households. The shielding' s not needed for the machines, its for the disks and things they use.' she paused as everyone looked surprised and awed at this achievement, then carried on 'Ari can you remember an American company in your portfolio called CPPB Technologies?'

Ari only needed a second to say 'Oh absolutely, its worth a fortune, based in America, Japan, India, South Africa and Switzerland and its products are illegal in Britain. I hold 80%, a company called MG Investments has the rest...Oh..CPPB...bloody he...' he tailed off with dawning comprehension at the smirks on Malcolm and Gruoch's faces. Ari groaned and bumped his head on the table.

It was Malcolm who said 'Chambord, Potter, Parkinson, Black. Yes, there were 4 of us, Sirius and Lily in development and James and I in Management, Manufacturing, Marketing, Finance etc.'

He carried on 'James was my one of my best friends from early childhood and because of that we had a lot of mutual business interests, this is just one that he invited me in on. It was the best 10,000 galleons any of us ever invested, don't you think, Ari?'

Ari laughed at that and said 'Oh absolutely, what's it worth now, G10billion was it?' Ari asked looking at Malcolm.

Whose response was a genuine wide smile and 'No closer to G12 billion now, don't worry Ari, I'll sit down with you tomorrow and we'll go through the portfolio, that is of course if you would like me to?'

Ari couldn't believe the offer and he looked up loosing his mask and showed a bit of the unsure teenager still buried deep inside of him, he quickly glanced around everyone to see them all smiling and with an emphatic nod of the head said 'That would be wonderful. Do um do you have time though?' and with Malcolm's emphatic of course!, he smiled and said

'OK where were we? Oh yes the North Wing 4th floor, yeah if anybody needs clarification, I'm sure Pansy and I can cover it?' He looked questioningly at Pansy and smiled when she grinned at him and said 'That'll be great fun.'

With that decided, Gruoch left to go to the ministry and take up her new post.

It was Xeno who spoke next and said 'Young lords and ladies, I believe it is time for you to continue with your recreation, whilst myself and a few others continue our discussions with young Aries here. If you wouldn't mind Pansy can you show your friends how to use their new play room and Aries will be along shortly.'

With that Ari called Jacques to show the others to the recreation room. Although Ari's girls were a little reluctant to leave, they went with the others as all of them were very excited about the promised fun.

Once they had left the adults looked to Sophia Zabini who stated calmly 'I believe before we start any more of our more visible attacks we should consolidate our hold on the press in Britain particularly, the Prophet. We need to see if we have a controlling interest or if we need to acquire more stock. The Douglass family controls 15% of the stock what about the other families?'

It transpired that no further acquisitions were needed when between the families present they had the majority of ownership; Douglass 15%, Malfoy 10%, Parkinson 10%, Abbott 10%, Greengrass 15% and finally Potter-Black 25%. With 85% ownership they could wrest control of the major source of the news and information in Britain.

Sophia's next words surprised everyone however 'My family owns the largest publishing house in both the magical and muggle worlds in western Europe. In fact it is the core of our business. ' She paused whilst most of those present got over their surprise before continuing ' Celia has a Potions Master and has indicated that she will pick up that and young Aries here pointed out yesterday that he is close to his mastery. Between them, I am not needed here on a daily basis. This means, that I can take over as executive officer and editor in chief of the Prophet, which would cover us from the public relations angle.'

It was a unanimous decision, to go with this idea and place all their stock under the simple collective banner of The Chimera Group; Sophia would be the public face and new Editor in Chief, whilst not disclosing who individual members were.

It was Jonathan Greengrass who spoke up now and said 'Ari, before we get onto what you wanted to raise with us, I want to make a serious suggestion. We all feel, that you should be concentrating on having fun and getting to know your peers and betrothed, not to mention you have a week of exams coming up next week. So, let us lot settle into our groups and start refining the individual plans. We will meet up for feedback and evaluation once a week. Hmm... I think Monday's after the Wizengamot meeting. We will all be using your home here as an operations base and most of us will be staying for periods, especially at weekends. All of our children will be here for the summer and I know that Appoline, Celia, Marilyn and Narcissa are staying here all the time, if you need to contact us. What do you think?'

The adults watched the the expressions flash across his face, concern, longing, guilt, concentration, mischief, uncertainty and finally happiness. In seconds he looked up, eyes shining and smiling and said. 'Could I do that? I would love that if everyone is fine with it?'

Lucius looked up and smiled approvingly saying 'Yes Ari, it is. It will take you a while to absorb fully, but you are not on your own any more. We are all in this together. You do have people you can come to now, who will support you, be here for you, show you affection and yes we will pull you back if we know you are in the wrong or has you said earlier acting like a brat. In fact look on us as the surrogate Aunts and Uncles we should have been when your parents weren't their.'

Ari looked around again to see that everyone agreed with what Lucius said and after a few seconds said. 'Thanks Uncle Lucius, I really would like that.'

'Right Ari' Richard Goldstein called his attention back 'What did you need to bring up before you join the others.'

'Oh, sorry, the core-connection from Riddles mark. I think while Dumbledark is in custody I should do the ritual to deny him that avenue when he gets desperate. I need to cast 2 sets, the first is through Uncle Lucius to reverse the connection from those who were coerced into taking it. This is in Parsel-tongue and would be like Riddle himself had done it without any side effects. The second one some of you may not approve of. Essentially, I need a faithful Death Eater, preferably Snape because its going to hurt like hell when I channel through his mark to the others. This will rip the core-connection away, it'll hurt all of them when it goes and will leave a breach in their core which will leak magic very quickly. In other words they will be either muggles or dead. There is no in between.'

He stopped talking then and watched the adults talk, for a short time before getting up with a general nod and going to stand on the terrace.

He was surprised a few minutes later when Xeno came out and stood next to him after watching the river for a minute or so he turned to Ari and said 'Do you mind if I ask you a question Ari?' at his negative head shake, Xeno continued 'After you perform the second ritual how will you feel?'

Ari knew what he was asking, which was how would it affect him and could he live with himself if he did it. He'd already thought about this, in reality he'd had nearly 2 years to consider it. So he answered truthfully 'I will feel relieved that Dumbledore cannot use them to start the next war, I will be happy that they cannot carry on with their hobby of killing muggle-borns children, I will be happy that they will finally pay for murdering, raping and torturing all beings they could get their hands on for their own sick pleasure, I will be happy that their many victims will get justice, I will be angry that it had to be me who executes them and I will be sad that they had to be executed. I will not feel guilty and I will not consider myself a murdered.' He stopped took a deep breath and looked Xeno straight in the eye before saying 'Does that answer the question.?'

Xeno smiled and said 'That it does lad, that it does.' Before, taking him in a one armed hug and leading him back inside.

Narcissa looked at him closely after he sat back down and asked 'Are you all right with doing the second ritual Ari?'

He answered calmly 'Yes, I've had a lot of time to think deeply about this and while I'm unhappy and sad that It's me performing the ritual, there is no other way. The positives far outweigh any negatives there may be. Do any of you have a problem with my proposed course of action?'

Before anyone could say anything however, Xeno emphatically stated 'Having spoken to Aries I fully support him in doing what he has proposed.'

At this all of the men at the table nodded, slowly followed by Celia, Appoline and Narcissa, though the latter nodded hesitatingly and was wearing a rather sad expression.

Marilyn Abbott looked at him for some time and finally, said 'Ari, my only concern is for your well-being. I do not want you to be scarred by cleaning up the previous generations' messes.'

Ari looked at her and gave a slight smile, then he did something that none of them had seen him do yet. He walked over to Marilyn sat down beside her and took her hand in a gentle hold, before putting his other are lightly around her and said softly 'I could not live with myself if I sat back and didn't do everything, that I possibly could to rid our world of these abominations who are infecting our world like a malignant disease. Unfortunately, just like any other malignancy it has to be excised before it spreads and kills the host.'

Marilyn looked up at him and smiled and put both her arms around him hugging him tightly and said 'Your parents would be very, very proud of you Ari, I think you have found the perfect analogy and every healer sometimes has to do unpleasant procedures for the general health of the patient. So yes we will talk about the logistics and prepare a plan.' She gave him another quick hug before releasing him and smiling at him said 'Now go have fun with the others and leave the rest to us.' he grinned at her then and with a last general nod

said 'Right, my Lords, Ladies I'm off to see what games we've got Super Mario All Stars' With that and a very cheeky grin, he transformed into his panther and ran out of the room.

The adults left behind just starred after him before Appoline started to giggle, quickly followed by Celia and then the others, until all 9 adults were convulsed with laughter.

The tension had gone from the room at Ari's antics and Lucius gasped out 'Oh Merlin help us he's just like Padfoot and Prongs!..Tigger would kill him!' still a bit breathless.

Appoline who was smiling brightly just had to ask what a Padfoot, Prongs and Tigger was.

Malcolm who was still chunking answered 'His parents' animagus names, James was Prongs a stag, Lily was Tigger a Tiger and Sirius was Padfoot a Wolfhound/Grim cross in other words a mutt.'

They all smiled at that and Xeno informed them that Luna had named Ari last night after her favourite fictional character. When asked what it was he answered 'The only name he could have, Bagheera of course, it came from me reading Kippling to her when she was small.'

With a final round of light hearted banter they got down to planning the preparation and logistics, for carrying out the plan. Particularly, the second part.

Hogwarts School: Great Hall 1245, Monday May 16th 1994

At around the same time Aries Potter-Black was finishing his ruminations about his 3 betrothed and the adults were arriving back from the Wizengamot, Hermione Dagworth-Granger-Dumbledore or Bushy for short, was finishing off her lunch. Next to her was sat Ronald Bilius Weasley aka the Weasel, with Ginevra Molly Weasley or Gin-Gin on her other side.

The headmaster had been called away this morning to an Emergency meeting at the Wizengamot and one of the trio, namely, Hermione was looking nervously between the main doors and the head table, awaiting his return. In fact, she was waiting for any news on the current situation.

What situation you may ask if you were new to the school, why the disappearance of one irritating, difficult teen. Who you might query was that, well Harry James bloody Potter that's who. Wasn't it always about him at this stage of term?

In between her nervous glances, however, Hermione was thinking about the events of the last 2 day, leading up to now.

They had been searching the whole school since Saturday lunch time to find a missing Harry Potter. They had last seen at around 10am that day, when he had been rather profane and threatening towards them, before running off somewhere to sulk.

They had had no luck finding him though, despite searching the whole of the castle and its grounds all that day and most of the next. They had just finish reporting their lack of success to the Headmaster before dinner on Sunday, he had told them not to worry about their search and said that he would send Fawkes his Phoenix to bring him out of hiding after dinner.

Unfortunately, just 30 minutes later, as she was starting on her pudding, she noticed that all of the teachers were agitated and seemed to be arguing amongst themselves.

Then the headmaster and Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and Snape left the hall by the staff door to the side of the head table.

Wondering what was going on everybody started talking and individual houses were noticing that they had some members missing. It was then that Professor Sinistra had ordered the prefects to escort everyone back to their houses and stated that they were not to leave for any reason. The castle was in lock down.

It was an hour later that McGonagall returned and called a house meeting in the common room. She had confirmed the rumours that there were 10 students missing from Hogwarts and that an investigated was taking place.

It was then that the she had proceeded to the 3rd year boys dorm and inspected Harry Potters trunk more closely. That's when the number of confirmed missing students rose to eleven.

She found that some things that he had been fond of, like his broom and photo album were actually transfigured replicas and the originals were missing.

With this the level of panic went up a few notches. Questions were now being asked, very difficult questions.

Like how long had Harry really been missing? He had last been seen on Saturday morning and he had been confirmed as definitely gone Sunday night, 36 hours later. Together with 2 Hufflepuffs, 2 Ravenclaws, 5 Slytherins and unfortunately one Neville Franklin Longbottom of Griffindor.

It wasn't as if Harry was friends with the others who were missing was it? well Neville was a sort of friend. They hadn't quite managed to prevent that and Susan Bones was always trying to talk to him. No matter how they tried to block her or failing that insult her.

But come on Hanna Abbott, Anthony Goldstein, Luna or Looney Lovgood as Ron and Ginny called her, wasn't even in their year and they knew Harry had never spoken to her. How could he? he was never out of their or the Headmasters' sight.

But it got really improbable that they were all together when you considered who the others 5 missing students were, I mean Harry Potter and Slytherins! pft never going to happen; Daphne Greengrass the bloody Ice Queen herself, her little sister Astoria, Blaise Zabini, Pansy the pug Parkinson and of all people the git himself Malfoy.

There was no way Harry Potter would leave school with Draco Malfoy they were enemy's, she and Ron had made sure of that.

So where the hell was Potter? She needed to start making up with him soon, it was only three weeks before the end of term and him going back for more a dose of intense 'Dursley conditioning'. She just had to get him to think she was sympathetic so he would be receptive to her after his rescue, she wasn't worried about him forgiving her, he always did. She'd even been practising the apology in front of the mirror and the spell to cause tears really worked well.

Mmm, may be talk to Grandfather about some mild potions before then. Yes, that might help that would get him thinking about her and absence did make the heart grow fonder didn't it?

Where, was her Grandfather, what was going on, it was killing her here putting up with Weasley and she wanted some playtime with Ginny before curfew. Hmf … where was he, this was so frustrating, she really needed to know everything that was happening. They had to get this plan started she was definitely not going to loose out on all that Potter power, Oh and hadn't grandfather mentioned that Harry was Blacks heir as well. Mmm yes that would work; Lady Hermione Dumbledore-Potter-Black, that had a good ring to it.

Now, where was grandfather they needed to get the Legacy plan back on track and make that little shit do what he was supposed to.

Having finished her ruminations for the moment Hermione tuned herself back into what was going on around her. The house tables were all whispering amongst themselves she noticed. She dropped her wand into her hand under the cover of the table and Cast the eavesdropper spell carefully, so no one saw her, she listened in to the conversation at the next table, Hufflepuff were always good for gossip.

She was listening in to Finch-Fletchly when she heard something that almost made her scream as she caught the tail end of what Diggory was saying to Summers. Wizengamot, they had selected a new Minister, oh yes she forgot Fudge resigned yesterday. Yes it was George Abbott, wait a minute he was Hanna Abbott's father. Oh that might explain why she was missing too. Then the shoe hit her and she strangled the scream just as it was about to be released, at overhearing 'Yeah, but I can't believe Professor Dumbledore was arrested for stealing and from Potter of all people...makes one wonder what else he's done, doesn't it. I mean who would be so low as to steal from the an orphan and the one who destroyed you-know-who, at that.'

Listening avidly now she heard Summers ask 'How much did he steal, I mean, its not as if Potter worth much is it... I mean just look at how he dresses and those specs he wears, he's almost a beggar.'

Cedric's response didn't surprise the eavesdropper at all, when she heard 'Oh come on Summers, surely you've read the supplementary History book?... oh shit mate your a 6th year you should know, Potter is probably the richest wizard in Europe, in fact probably the whole northern hemisphere' he looked at the uncomprehending expression on his mates face and said 'Ancient and Noble families mate or in this case, the Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter and Peverall and from what dad said Black as well. Oh Merlin mate you really have to read those books. Potter is the sole heir of the first two and the named primary heir of the last one. In other words he's a Lord, an Earl I believe of 3 of the 13 founding houses. He's filthy, stinking rich and dad said the money was only from his trust vault, its tens of millions of Gs in a bloody school trust vault!'

'Oh' the ill informed hufflepuff responded followed by 'Did Dumbledore do anything else?'

'Yes apparently, illegal imprisonment of a Lord, attempted line theft and what was it... um oh yeah illegal disregarding of a magically bound Last Will and wrongful seizing of guardianship of a minor. Don't know what will happen now if its true and to be honest dads not sure either. Apparently Potter exercised his right to be an emancipated minor as the Head of an Ancient and Noble family and found some things out, there could even be more. Gonna, be interesting for sure. Oh and he has formally withdrawn from Hogwarts and is being home tutored.' Cedric finished.

Hermione was stunned and panicking. She looked around and saw that a lot of students were clustered around house mates who she knew had family members in the Wizengamot, at all the tables including McLaggen, Sloper and Coote of Griffindor.

Hermione looked at her companions and saw that Ronald as usual was oblivious to everything while stuffing his face. Her little Gin-Gin though, was looking at her with rising panic. So catching her eye she nodded towards the door. She had a lot of evidence to hide or destroy just in case they investigated the dorms too closely. After all if anything happened to her Grandfather it was down to her to carry out their plans for augmenting and cementing the Dumbledore Family Legacy.

Getting up and rushing out of the hall with her pet following her. She pushed down her panic and strengthened her resolve. Yes everything would be fine Potter would be returned and she would make sure he and his families power would be hers before the end of summer. She was a the sole Dagwoth-Dumbledore heir and she always got what she went after and no stupid half-blood brat was going to stop her .

…...

AN. More bonding and a bit of action next chapter.

Thanks for reading and the comments are really appreciated, I take all of them and any suggestions into considereation.


	10. Chapter 10

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 10. (Re-written)  
><strong>

Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world.

AN: If anyone would like to beta this and help 'tighten it up' please PM me.

**Thank you Agnar for the review, I have incorporated some of the changes you suggested. It was great its changed the entire tone of that section and has changed the first 4 pages of chapter 11. **

Thank you for reading and especially those who took the time to comment. Please let me know what you think. If you read the previous version of this chapter.

Lynn

Châteaux Chambord; 1600 CET, Monday May 16th 1994

Ari bounded to the 'Play' room as his parents had called it, revelling in the feeling of freedom he always experienced when he was the Panther. He had resolved at the end of the meeting to try and do what the adults had suggested; to let them help and support him, to just be a teenager. Yes a teenager with a lot of responsibility, but still a teenager was looking forward to having a lot of fun.

Transforming back on reaching his destination, Ari stopped in front of the double doors to the room. Hmmm, they looked subtly different from those in the rest of the house. Looking closely he saw why they looked different. A genuine smile broke out on his face as he looked even closer at the carvings that were so different to the others in the house.

There, engraved in exacting detail were his parents animagus forms; on the left, Sirius-the lloyal and playfull Mutt, on the right James the arrogant and noble Monarch of the Glen and below across both doors was his mother a beautiful and lethal Bengal tiger. He stood looking at them for a moment lightly brushing his fingers over the forms, they were so well done it looked like the animals could spring to life at any time. Sighing he buried that thought deep and inspected the door closer. How was this room shielded?

He looked more closely and there it was. Around the door-frame and the door panels framing his parents forms were some of the most unusual and complex rune arrays he had ever seen (whilst studying he had seen a lot). Oh yes he would study these later, Sirius really was a genius with Runes. He did notice some similarities to other examples he has seen, like some of those used around the portal to platform 9 and ¾ for example.

Taking a deep breath, he shook himself from his contemplation, there would be time to study later, now he was going to have fun and relax with his new acquaintances. Again setting his resolve he entered the room for the first time.

On opened the doors his face took on an appearance that could only be described as gob smacked. He had no way of knowing that everyone else who saw this room also reacted in the same way.

There, spread out before him was a 230 feet or 70 metres long room and 160ft or 49m wide. It was more than half the size of a quidditch pitch or even Wembley Stadium and the ultimate hangout space.

The room was the only one on this floor of the North Wing. It overlooking the river to the east, quidditch pitch to the north side, with the gardens and grounds to the south and west. A huge space for the pursuit of fun, relaxation and recreation. As he entered he immediately saw a comfortable sitting area around a 50 inch television. Where Luna, Astoria, Gabrielle, Fleur, Daphne and Susan were avidly watching what he thought was Jurassic Park, there was a huge bowl of what looked like toffee popcorn on a long coffee table in front of them.

Beyond that was a muggle kitchen area with a large cold drinks fridge and snacks laid out. Followed by, pinball machines, snooker, tennis, pool and football tables, at the far end was a bowling alley with another seating area for those watching . In fact, Blasie and Hanna were involved in what looked to be a very competitive game of table football. This was followed by another seating area and a fully stocked bar (whoa gotta be careful with that) and finally the really fun part, video game machines, where Draco and Anthony appeared to be playing Super Mario, Pansy and Neville of all people playing Wacky Racers. He quickly realised that there were at least 2 television areas and numerous computer game and arcade game machines. The individual areas also appeared to have silencing charms so the activities could be pursued without restraint. The area to the left of the doors over looking the river, had floor to ceiling French doors leading to a deck and lounging area, again with bar area. Whoa this was unbelievable, even the adults could be comfortable here. Indeed there was also a balcony and bar at the Western end of the room, past the bowling alley, it would be perfect for looking over the estate and catching the afternoon sun or watching the sunset over the forest. Whilst to his left facing east and the river was an area looking like an Engish pub with huge doors leading out to a large balcony.

Everyone noticed Ari when he entered the room and after various quick 'hello's' and waves, they went back to their games. Except the girls watching the television. It was a very excited Daphne of all people who called him to join them, patting the seat next to her. Deciding to go with it, he quickly grabbing two packs of chilled cola and some butterbeer to pass around, together with a bowl of salted peanuts, before sitting down by Daphne and having Susan move to his other side.

There wasn't much chatter around the TV as the girls were gripping each other and giving the occasional scream as they watched the film. Ari quite enjoying the feeling of Daphne and Susan literally glued to him especially when the Velociraptors appeared.

Once the film was finished and most of the girls started raving about how great it was and what they would watch next, Luna looked over at Ari and snickered ''Susan, Daphne you can let go of Ari now its over, I'm sure he'd like to move his arms a bit.'' At that the 2 shot away from him, with deep blushes on their faces and leaving him somewhat startled. This resulted in hilarity from the others looking on.

Although, Ari had to work very hard at keeping the disappointment off his face. He had quite enjoyed the feeling of the 2 girls cuddling up to him (even if the arm Susan's side was a bit numb) and he felt the loss when they moved [Hmm he thought, I'm definitely going to talk to Aunt Cissa, this cannot be normal].

With a small sigh Ari got up just as Luna said 'It's nearly dinner time, we had better get ready.'

Ari nodded and looked at the other occupants of the room, smiled at the girls around him he waved a hand at the other groups and asked hopefully ''OK who's going to help me get that lot over there to stop playing?''.

The girls all followed the direction of his wave and saw the other six teens in various states of excitement.

Susan took charge with ''All right Ari, you and I will get Nev and Pansy, Daph, Luna and Storie can grab Draco and Anthony and that leaves Fleur and Gabi to get Hanna and Blaise.'' She looked at them and with a grin ordered ''Come on then lets get them.''

10 long minutes later and after a lot of resistance, particularly from Neville and Pansy, they eventually got everyone moving. However, they only left the room after the promise that they could save their games and continue later. Yes, Gruoch had been right, doing Muggle Studies here would not be a problem, getting everyone out of the room would be.

Chatting and laughing, they made their way to their suites, promising each other that they would go back for a couple of hours after dinner, before separating to get ready for dinner in the remaining 30 minutes they had.

Châteaux Chambord; 1825 CET Monday May 16th 1994

As Ari walked into the family dinning room just before 1830, relaxed and looking forward to spending some more time with his betrothed. He followed the voices he could hear out onto the terrace and sat down by Cissa and giving her a small kiss on the cheek and a ''Good evening Aunt Cissa, Uncle Lucius, everyone.'' before taking a glass of the white wine he liked from Jacques, with a thank you. All of the adults were present again tonight, although this would probably be the last time until the weekend.

He quickly noted that the clothes Jules had laid out for him (navy Armani linen suit, royal blue silk shirt and dark grey loafers was totally appropriate. Gone was the formality of yesterday, replaced by smart suits and less formal open robes, except Lady Augusta of course, whose only concession was to be less ornate and halve the amount of jewellery she had worn the previous night.

Noting that he was the first of the younger generation there, he turned to Cissa and quietly asked ''Aunt Cissa can I talk to you after dinner please, there's something about the girls that I need your help with? ''

The response was instantaneous and a soft ''Of course Ari that's what Luc and I are here for. But, if you save our talk till tomorrow we can go for a nice ride and talk without interruption'' She smiled ''That would be better don't you think? The bridle paths here have always been so pleasant'' at Ari's very hesitant nod, she laughed out loud and said in a clear voice ''Now tell us what do you think of the play room.''

Aries grinned and his eyes lit with excitement ''It's great, can we all go up there after dinner, there's a nice deck with a bar either end and you can tell me the plans you've made without the others feeling left out.''

'That's a wonderful idea Aries... what say you Lucius its been 12 years since I last beat you at snooker.'' Malcolm said with a laugh.

Only to receive the drawled response from Lucius of ''We'll see Parkinson, I've had some practice since then.'' Laughs from all the adults accompanied that and with some ribbing from the others, especially the ladies, bets were laid on the pair.

Although, Xeno it appeared preferred the game of pool to the more disciplined snooker and was pleased when Marilyn Abbott agreed with him and challenged him to a game.

The chatting and banter went on for a while as the other youths began to arrive and join in and it was decided that they would also join the adults in a competition. Narssica and Gruoch on the other hand loved 10 pin bowling and agreed to a friendly game.

Dinner was pleasant, Ari sat between Susan and Daphne again with Fleur beside Daphne and they began talking amongst themselves keeping the subjects light and general. To the others who were discreetly observing their interactions, it was apparent that Ari was very drawn to Susan and Fleur (and they to him) and was beginning to break the ice with Daphne as he got to know her without her 'Ice Queen' mask in place. Although he was still guarded with her, especially when compared to the easy way he was interacting with Susan and Fleur.

Also being observed by the interested parents, were the budding attractions between Anthony and Gabrielle and Neville, Pansy and Astoria. Augusta and Malcolm going so far as to nod approvingly at the trio, whilst Jonathan Greengrass had a pensive look on his face at that grouping. It could solve the problem of Neville and Pansy's need for 4 heirs to prevent the loss of more families and with Astoria not being a primary heir she would be perfect, but would his fun loving little princess fit in a tri-bond? mmm.. he would talk to Celia tonight.

All seemed quite happy with the current situation, with general talk, banter and laughter throughout the meal. Once pudding had been cleared, glasses of champagne appeared in front of everyone and Ari stood up and catching everyone's eye, raised his glass said ''I believe we should congratulate our newly elected leaders, therefore I give you George Abbott and Lady Augusta Longbottom our new Minister of Magic and the new Chief Witch of the Wizengamot and Queens Witch.'' At that everyone present stood, before repeating the toast, draining their glasses and then applauding loudly.

George was first to stand and acknowledge the celebrants before saying lightly ''I thank you my friends and acknowledge that whilst this is the first time I have been conscripted to do anything, it could have been far worse. I could have ended up having to actually do real work.'' he shuddered theatrically causing everyone to laugh, then sighed in an exaggerated fashion before continuing ''I would not have survived a week. Fortunately, you conscripted the illustrious Grand Dame of our coalition, the Lady Augusta for the real work of government and the position of power.'' He looked at Augusta raising his glass again and bowing deeply, whilst the others stood and did the same ''For which I will be eternally grateful. With that said, we have made the first of many steps towards our goals for the betterment of the magical world. '' He took a deep breath as everyone applauded again and then grinning mischievously said ''As your minister, I now order you to the 4th floor recreational room situated in the North Wing of this palace, where you are ordered to engage in the arduous pursuit of FUN!''

With that everyone laughed and began to make their way out, with Luna and Gabrielle leading the way at a flat out sprint.

Aries looked at Lucius who put his hand on his shoulder and smiled saying ''Tomorrow after breakfast is time enough Ari. Go have fun tonight and practice flirting with your ladies.''

This caused the other adults to laugh softly particularly when he flushed slightly and stuttered without saying anything intelligible, before shrugging and with his best Draco impression he smirkes and drawled ''As you wish my lord.'' He started to run after his peers laughing, before shifting mid stride to the panther and bounding up the stairs, the other teens now in hot pursuit. Completely missing Lucius' ''Oh Goddess we've woke up a Marauder!''.

The wonderful night of fun and relaxation, was just what everyone needed after the almost frenetic pace of the previous 2 days of plotting. The next day would be different he was sure.

Gymnasium, Ground Floor, North East Corner: Tuesday, May 17th 0745

Ari quickly showered and dressed after his workout in the very well equipped gym he had found the previous day. He resolved that tomorrow he would try out the swimming pool and the very inviting looking spa that was just over the corridor from the gym. Changing quickly into a comfortable pair of cream linen trousers, beige Rockport slip-ons and a burgundy polo shirt he made his way to the dinning room for a quick breakfast before his meeting with Lucius, Narcissa, Xeno and Amelia that had been quickly confirmed before he went to bed the previous night.

Walking into the family dinning room shortly before 0810, he quickly scanned the room. Seeing the adults he was meeting this morning, together with Marilyn Abbott, Celia Greengrass and Richard Goldstein.

Sitting down he was just about to ask where everyone was when Richard volunteered ''Gruoch, George and Augusta are at the ministry, Malcolm, Jonathan and Sophia are in a meeting at Gringotts to officially set up the Chimera Group. The plan is to then summon the board of the Prophet to explain the new facts of life and execute the takeover. Marcel is meeting with the French Minister and Appoline has been called to the Veela Council to consult about recent occurrences in Britain, I don't think its been mentioned, but she is the Veela representative on the ICW.''

Whilst reaching for bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and toast he thought over what Richard had said before giving a satisfied smirk and said ''Excellent, stage one of the plan is almost complete. Its been much smoother than I thought it would.'' He looked around and smiled at everyone, before saying earnestly ''Thank you my Lords and Ladies for trusting in and facilitating the execution of a plan formulated by an angry frightened teen and a arrogant opinionated portrait.'' Bowing his head in respect to all of them and ignoring the objections being voiced by a certain portrait behind him.

With various smiles and nods back Amelia stated firmly ''You provided us with the focus Aries'' before saying kindly ''Now eat you breakfast and we can finish this phase and take a breather.''

With a snort of laughter, a cheeky salute Ari's responsed ''Yes Ma'am thank you Ma'am, whatever you say Ma'am''. Before he poured himself a glass of citrus juice and tucked into his breakfast with gusto, he purposely ignored the amusement from the adults and greeted the other teens as they arrived.

Plans were being made for how to spend the morning; Draco and Luna decided to go flying, while Anthony and Blaise said they would help Gabrielle and Hanna get more experience on a broom. Neville, Pansy and Astoria were going to check out the library and the greenhouses and finally Ari's girls were going to inspect the châteaux and familiarize themselves with the layout and facilities before Ari met them and they would go riding.

When informed of this, a slightly stuttering Ari tried to interject, stated that he would be busy with existing plans for most of the day, he was waved off by Susan, who ordered, whilst fixing him with a glare ''You will be with us after lunch Aries, we are going riding together and you will spend time with your betrothed or you will regret it.''

For a few seconds after she had finished talking Aries looked at her like a startled hare, not knowing whether to run or hide. This however was a very transient reaction, as his inherent nature came to the fore. His expression went blank, his posture became erect, the air around him chilled, faint ripples of magic could be felt by those at the table and his eyes as they met Susan's were focused and glittering with suppressed power.

Within those short seconds, the amiable cheerful teenager called Ari was replaced with His Grace Lord Aries Jamille Chambord- Peverall-Potter-Black. Piercing Susan with eyes that seemed to drill into her he spoke in a clear controlled, clipped voice ''Yes Lady Susan, I will be meeting with yourself, Lady Daphne and Demoiselle Fleur at lunch. No I will not be going riding with my betrothed following that lunch. As I was endeavouring to explain, I have existing plans for today which include; a meeting this morning and riding with my Godmother Lady Narcissa following lunch. I am not prepared at this late hour to be so discourteous, as to change those plans at the whim of a spoilt princess , to do so would be discourteous not to mention an insult and inconvenience to the people involved.'' He paused then to look at Narcissa who looked back seriously (and a little sadly) and gave a small nod of agreement. He then quickly looked around the table seeing serious and in some cases slightly apprehensive looks on the face of every person there. Before he continued, fixing Susan with that intense look again, he saw her now white face, wide frightened eyes and the faint tremors in her hands. When he resumed speeking it was in a slightly softer tone but still cold tone ''I do not react well to orders or having my wishes and plans ignored, please consult me in the future.'' He stood up gracefully (reminding the adults of Sirus) standing straight and with a brief look around the table he he said in a formal neutral voice ''If you will excuse me my lords, ladies, if you need anything please summon Jules or Jacques.'' With a very formal brief shallow bow, he strode out of the room leaving a sober gathering and a shaking Susan Bones.

It was Neville who summed it up with a quiet ''Stuffed that up good and proper'' before getting up and running after Ari.

No further comments were needed and everyone returned to quiet conversations and concentrating on their breakfast, including Susan who sat looking at her plate for 5 minutes before hurrying out of the room immediately followed by Fleur and Daphne who gave a quick excuse me and ran after Susan.

Amelia Bones sat in her chair shaking her head and hoping the other girls would sort Susan out, she had not been brought up to be so bloody stupid, how could she have pushed that many of young Aries buttons after their talk Sunday and what she had seen in the pensive. Oh well, what was broke could be fixed with enough effort.. she hoped. Frowning she concentrated on her coffee and talking quietly to Celia Greengrass about when the teens would be starting lessons and what they would be doing.

Neville returned about 15 minutes later and took his seat between Pansy and Astoria, he looked over the table and catching both Lucius' and Narcissa's concerned eyes, he gave a very slight fleeting smile and nod. Cissa let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding and felt Luc pat her leg reassuringly, thank Merlin Ari was OK, for a moment she had thought he was going to lose his control. Stupid girl had she not learnt anything from the pensive memories and Phineas. She was not dealing with a smartened up Harry Potter here. Aries Potter-Black was an entirely different proposition. She smiled sadly to herself, godson was definitely a blend of his parents; Lily's temper, James's manner and Sirus' grace, resulted in a formidable young man indeed.

Just after 9 am Narcissa summoned an elf to ask if he would escort them to Lord Aries and Jacques led Amelia, Lucius, Cissa, Xeno and Richard to his private study on the first floor directly under the master suite. Celia and Marilyn the only remaining adults, were watching the quidditch players to ensure no one was hurt. All of the adults deemed it wiser to let Daphne and Fleur deal with Susan.

Duc's Study: 1st floor South East corner 1210 

Ari left his study and relaxed back in a steamer chair on the balcony with a sigh. He was grateful that unlike the other floors which alternated views, 'his' corner ensured he would always be able to watch the soothing movement of the river valley, in this case the southern aspect where the river bent slightly; appearing to wrap around this corner of the châteaux. As he looked across the valley and sipped the firewhiskey Jules had brought him, he reflected on the 3 hour meeting that had just finished.

They had started with Lucius saying ''Ari we have the names of the other unwilling Death Eaters, how soon do you want to perform the ritual for myself and the five others?''

After a moments consideration Ari had stated firmly ''Tonight, I checked the ritual chamber in the basement and it is more than sufficient for our needs, it will only take an hour but it will take a fair amount of power and energy, so I will have to go to bed after.'' He frowned considering for a while and stated firmly ''10 o'clock to-night after dinner, that would be best.''

There had been general agreement from the others though some concern from Amelia and Cissa that he would be drained by the ritual. But, it was decided; tonight Lucius, Mafalda Hopkirk, Ludo Bagman, Stamford Jorkins, Auror Gawain Robards and Madam Marie Edgcombe would be freed from the mark and the latter 5 discreetly interviewed by Xeno and Amelia to get any further information they may have on supremacist sympathisers.

They then went on to the other ritual. Ari had been ecstatic at the wonderful news that yesterday after their meeting, Lucius and Xeno had gone to Malfoy Manor, Lucius had called Snape on the pretence of worry about Draco being missing, demanding that he come though the flue and report what news he had etc. It had been very easy for Xeno to stun and bind him as he stepped from the flue. Snape was currently recovering from an afternoon of questioning by Xeno in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor.

The amount of information Snape had was immense, however, he resolved to consider that another day, for now, he would have 2 days rest and then perform the ritual, focusing through Snape to rip out the residual link to the magical core. This would leave the true Death Eaters dead or at the best squibs. They decided to be very careful to keep Snape alive to testify against Dumbledore.

That had been sorted relatively easily, it had been what Richard and Amelia wanted to do that had taken the majority of time and rather a toll on his composure. The first part was bringing charges against the Weasel family, certainly not a problem, he was happy to throw the book at them.

Richard, who he had learnt was a shark in court, would be prosecuting on behalf of Ari as the injured party. The problem was what they wanted to do to Albus. They proposed using his testimony and pensive memories; witnessed by Amelia as head of the DMLE and Xeno as an unspeakable to not only arrest and try the Dursley's, but also to use this together with his memories of Hogwarts to ensure Dumbledork was at least thrown off the Wizengamot, sacked as Headmaster and discredited.

After a short fight against the inevitable, he had conceded defeat and then gone on to make their day.

As part of his potions studies he had become interested in polyjuice potion and how it worked. He had found that with the slight alteration of substituting unicorn horn for bicorn horn, the potion would last until it was reversed with the antidote, it also gave an exact physical replica of the person at the age the hairs were taken. In this way he could actually duplicate his physical body from the second day of room time. This would show all of the physical and magical damage and influences he had at that time. The major plus was that, it would be undetectable because he had the same genetic composition pre and post transformation, he wasn't changing into anyone else, the polyjuiced Aries was still Aries. When the adults had asked how he was able to do this? His answer had been to laugh out loud; that would be Phineas' fault was his response and continued to explain how to the adults.

Ari had received an hair cut, yes? And? Ah he hadn't known about the hair cut, until Dobby had told him, you see; Phineas had ordered Dobby to give his hair a trim in his sleep on his first night. This was in his words to tidy 'the scruffy brat' up. Because if he had to look at him all day, the Black Family Guardian wanted him at least presentable.

Now, Dobby worshipping Aries as he did, had kept the hair and when the little elf had moved into the room at the end of their 2nd year of room time he had asked Master Aries if he could have a piece of his 'new' hair to go with his 'old' hair. The tale had spilled out and thinking about his experiments he had swapped some 'new' hair for the old to try experimenting. The result; he had transformed into the familiar figure of 'Harry Potter'. Tests showing he was exactly how Harry Potter had been prior to the potions regime and room time.

The result of this was the decision to ask Marilyn Abbott to arrange a formal documented examination with Lucius, Richard and Cissa as his representatives, Amelia and Xeno in their official capacities and a Senior Paediatric Healer from both St Mungos and St Emille's its French counterpart carrying out their own full examinations.

Amelia had previously stated that she was not letting Dumbles go until after his hearing, which was set for the following Monday. This gave time to organize the outside healers for the weekend.

It would be explained at the hearing, that Ari was unavailable as he was recovering from and receiving treatment for the damage caused by Dumbledore and the Dursleys'. The truth was, he had his ICW exams in the Dutch Antilles, starting the day of Dumbledore's hearing and he really, really did not wish to relive those events and bad memories or encounter the people responsible ever again. This of course would be played up by Richard and emphasised by carefully asked questions from the other allies together with the healers testimony.

So it was finally decided. He would do the first ritual tonight, he would give the official testimony and memories Thursday morning and perform the second ritual on Thursday night after porkeying the Malfoy Manor (he would not have that slime in his home). He would be examined by the healers on Saturday at the Malfoys La Rochelle Chateaux and portkey to Curacao to take his exams after dinner on Sunday. This should give him time to adjust.

Whilst there he would use a time turner that had been arranged by the examiners, he would also use his own to ensure enough rest (although nobody knew the last bit). Take 11 OWL's, 8 NEWT's and be back at the Châteaux early Sunday morning. For a break he hoped.

With a deep sigh, a swallow of the last drop of firewhisky he hoisted himself to his feet and went to get changed for lunch and his much needed meeting with Narcissa, not to forget his first experience of horse riding. Snorting to himself at the thought that an hippogriff didn't really count. He was determined to keep his distance from his betrothed at the moment. He was not sure he could deal with them so soon after Susan's spoilt brat performance this morning.

After changing into the clothes Jules had laid out; very soft, comfortable and fitted dragon hide trousers, tucked in knee high dragon hide boots and his new Griffindor quidditch shirt, he did a quick check in the mirror. This resulted in brushing his hair and re-tying it in a low tail with a plain leather tie.

Putting his wand back in the holster and focus band on his left arm. With a quick last look and a murmured well at least I look good, he left his suite to go join the others. The last fleeting thought as he walked into the dinning room and saw his new friends was, I wonder what Granger and Weasel are doing now?

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Griffindor Common Room 10:00 Tuesday May 17th 

Hermione Granger (as she was officially known), sat in her usual chair in the Griffindor common room, trying to review her Charms notes for her first end of term exam that afternoon. Realizing she had read the same notes on the cleaning charm 4 times already, she gave a strangled scream and threw the notes down on the seat beside her. She sat radiating frustration and thinking what she could do now.

She had been so lucky yesterday at lunch that she had been able to catch what Diggory was saying and was able to adjust the eavesdropper charm to focus in on him and Summers. A trick her grandfather had taught her so she could be a more effective spy in a noisy environment, all she had to do was point her wand directly at the target, concentrate on her connection with the wand and with a small circular motion and the addition of a mental 'Foci Cedric Diggory' she was able to hear quite clearly, whilst reducing the other chatter to a muted buzz.

Despite her determination, she hadn't known what to do next. She didn't have all the information she needed. Growling in frustration, she thought about the rest of yesterday following lunch.

She had rushed out of the main hall with Gin-Gin behind her. Running to Griffindor tower with Ginny behind her, she had managed to gasp out that the Headmaster hadn't returned so there was definitely something wrong and to collect anything that her parents didn't know she had and hide it carefully, before going to her next class and telling McGonagall that Hermione was seeing Pomfrey for a headache.

With that taken care of she collected all her notes and the books from the restricted section and those her Grandfather had given her and shrunk them down, before packing them in a jewellery box that her mother had brought her for Xmas. With a double check she had everything that could be incriminating, she had cast an advanced colloportus to seal the box before wrapping it and writing a quick note to her parents saying it was some books that she wanted to read over the summer but hadn't got any room in her trunk for them. Putting the wrapped box in the pocket of her school robe she left the tower and went to see Madam Pomfrey for a headache potion and an alibi.

Snorting she had needed it later that night. But with her alibi set she had been able to apply a dissilution charm and owl post the box before tracking down Professor Snape to find out what was going on.

Glaring at the fireplace in anger, she remembered what an exercise in futility that had been.

Snape had been in lessons all afternoon until 1630 and when she had tried to talk to him between classes and after his final class, she had received a sneered 'I do not have time for self important brats, come to my private office after dinner and I will discuss recent events then. Oh and do I need to remind you to cover your tracks.''

That had been the last time he had been seen. When she had gone to see him at 2000 after shaking off a complaining Weasley and an anxious Gin-Gin, she had found Professor McGonagall outside his office. She had told Hermione that it appeared Professor Snape had been called away and to return to her house. When she had tried to ask the stern professor about the Headmaster she was told that she had no further news and would let all student's know what was happening when she could.

Hermione had been really worried by this turn of events. Grandfather had repeatedly told her that she could only trust either himself or Snape if she needed any non school related assistance.

With nothing else to do (she had found she couldn't get into the Headmaster's office). She stormed off to her dorm and some review work for the exams that started to following day.

It had been a long and frustrating day for Hermione Dagworth-Granger-Dumbledore and she spent a frustratingly restless night.

Hogwarts Great Hall: 0800 Tuesday17th May 

It had been 0755 before she had managed to drag the the Human Dustbin and Ginny to breakfast that morning. As they sat down Hermione had experienced a growing feeling of something being terribly wrong and when the morning owl post arrived just 5 minutes latter, that feeling of foreboding intensified.

Hundred's of owls began winging in and dropping newspapers in front of professors and students. After paying the owl she opened the paper with shaking hands oblivious to the drastic rise in the level of noise around her.

This had been when she realised that she had a reason to be so afraid and had to finally concede she may not reach her goal of building her families legacy, but she would try it was her Grandfathers greatest ambition and she had the plan.

She remembered with a shudder how she had sat, just a couple of hours ago starring transfixed at the Special Edition of the Daily Prophet in front of her. There on the front page of the paper was a full page picture of her Great Grandfather being escorted out of the Wizengamot Chambers, wearing magic suppressing manacles and held either side by an Auror with wand at the ready.

The large print headlines read:

**Corruption, Murder and Lies: Albus Dumbledore Arrested for Questioning about his Crimes Against Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.**

Special report By Rita Skeeter.

_The election of the new Minister of Magic Lord George Abbott, Earl of Dartmouth (see page 21- The Abbott Family and election ) yesterday morning, was overshadowed by the arrest of Albus Dumbledore. The 115 year old Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and self proclaimed Leader of the Light was arrested following the election of the Minister. After the revelations of serious crimes raised by, Lady Narcissa Black-Malfoy, Countess of Wiltshire and Viscountess Combe the newly appointed Wizengamot proxy for, Lord Aries Potter-Peverall-Black, the minor Earl of Hereford, Radnor and Shropshire. Yes my avid readers that is The Harry Potter the-boy-who-lived, our saviour. (See Page 3-4 Harry Potter: fact or fiction)  
><em>

_Lady Wiltshire-Combe, demanded an investigation into Dumbledore actions for criminal and questionable acts against her young orphaned godson and her late Cousin Lord Sirius Black, Earl of Shopshire. The latter of whom was unlawfully killed by Dementor's Kiss 2 days ago by order of Chief Warlock Dumbledore and former Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge..._

The article went on to state the charges and viciously speculated about other crimes he may have committed if he could do this to a one year old orphan and the young saviour and the Lord of one of the great families, what had he done to others, was just one of the questions asked. It finished with;

_Both the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Amelia Bones and Minister __Abbott were unavailable for comment. However, Lady Augusta Coker-Longbottom, Dowager Countess of Durham, Viscountess Pontefract and the newly elected Interim Chief Witch had this to say._

_''My grandson Neville is a very close friend of young Aries and I will do my utmost to ensure he receives justice and restution in this matter. Having seen the papers concerning the actions of Mr Dumbledore, I fully expect more charges to be levelled against him at his hearing next Monday. Young Lord Aries has my, my families and our Allies full support in this matter and I can only say how appalled I am that he had to flee the country of his birth to feel safe from that evil old man (Dumbledore).''_

_That's right fellow witches and wizards our Young Saviour has had to flee our country for his own safety. Just how far does the corruption and illegal activities of Dumbledore go? How many lies have our leaders been telling us? Just who is the boy-who-lived?_

_Stay tuned my dear readers _

_Harry Potter:fact or fiction? Page 3-4_

_Aries Potter-Black:Why did he have to leave? Page 5-6_

_Ministerial Elections: Light and Dark split to Grey. Page 7-8_

_Dumbledore, Light or Dark Lord?: his hidden life. Page 9-20_

_The Abbott Family and Elections. Page 21-22_

_Sirius Black Innocent: No trial given to Lord Black. Page 23-26_

_The Longbottom Family. Page 27-28_

Hermione had been stunned the paper had been very well informed about her Great Grandfather and had printed things about him that even she and her parents didn't know. Particularly about his relationship with The Dark Lord Grindlewald. His reputation had been savagely shredded by Skeeter.

As Hermione reflected on what she had read, she remembered the reactions of her fellow students and the majority of the professors, in fact McGonagall was in tears as she read, she remembered how stunned she had been that grandfather had been caught. But not as stunned as finding out that no such person as Harry Potter existed, he never had. How had Grandfather screwed that up so badly, the Weasley's consort contract was void as were a lot of other things, oh bugger, that included the forged letters to Gringotts arranging the transfer of funds from Potters Trust Vault to her special Hottinger account. Really, who needed 1½ million Galleons a year while they were at school. Well at least the gnomes would protect her money and stop the goblins taking it back. Thank Merlin the Potter's only used Gringotts.

Going back to her ruminations, it had been about 20 minutes after the bombshell was dropped that Professor McGonagall had regained her composure and stood up calling everyone to order. Then she made the announcement that filled the cup of Hermione's despair to the brim. The statement that in fact left her complete lost. McGonagalls statement was ''If I could have your attention please. It has been brought to my attention that Professor Snape has left the school. I received his resignation letter shortly before dinner. Therefore, in the absence of a Headmaster I am cancelling all end of term potions exams. Madam Pomfrey will be available, barring emergencies of course for those of you undertaking OWL's and NEWT's. For the remainder of the school year Professor Sinitra, a Slytherin Alumni will take over as head that house. I ask you all to finish your breakfasts and carry on with your schedules. I must insist that outside of meal times and examinations that you return to your houses. Prefects, you are under orders to ensure the behaviour of those houses. Fifth and seventh years will be allowed to use the library for study, all other years are confined to house. One further point unconfirmed and malicious speculation will be punished with points loss and detentions. Thank You''. With that she had sat down and Hermione ignoring everyone left the hall for her dorm and the worst day of her life.

Now, she acknowledged to herself that she was completely lost, her plans were in tatters, she could not do anything to change the situation and had no idea if anything at all could be salvaged after her Great Grandfather was released in 5 days time.

With a huff she got up and stomped over towards her notes, taking them back to her seat she slumped down and still frowning began to revise again.

Only to stop and smirk all wasn't lost really, her Grandfather had immunity from prosecution, signed by the Minister of Magic. It wouldn't be long before he had a revised plan in place, after all, when all was said and done, he was the most powerful wizard in the world. Yes, Great, Grandfather would sort it soon.

Hearing a noise from the stairs to the girls dorms she looked up with a scowl to see who had interrupted her ruminations. The scowl changing to a small satisfied smile and she purred ''Morning my little Gin-Gin. Come I need a little relaxation before the Charms Exam.'' ignoring McGonnagll's order and the objections of the other students in the common room, she took the girls arm before leading her to their secret spot.

Yes, an hour of play was just what she needed, yes a couple of orgasms was a wonderful stress reliever and Gin-Gin was developing a very skilled tongue.

…...

AN: Ending there. Very difficult getting this one stared and not completely happy with it but will see what you think before I do it again.

Thank you for reading and especially reviewing.

Updates will be as health allows from now. Thanks again for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 11**

Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world.

**AN: Please if you don't like this story don't read it, I like most others do not like destructive or belittling feedback. **

**Thank You for reading. Cheers **

Châteaux Chambord: Family Dinning Room, 0840 Tuesday 17th May 1994 

Susan Bones sat there stunned, starring down unseeing at her breakfast. Her mind was trapped in a loop, of how dare he? what's wrong with him? It kept repeating itself in her mind. She had been vaguely aware of shy little Neville Longbottom saying something about 'that's stuffed it' and leaving after Ari but nothing else.

She had no idea how long she sat there, but awareness started to return to her mind and she raised her eyes from her plate and looked up, straight into her Aunts look of severe disappointment. With this she was jolted out of her trance and the previous scene flashed through her mind, together with her talk with her Aunt on Sunday night after dinner. Aunt Amelia had emphasised that this was not little Harry Potter she was dealing with this was Lord Aries Chambord-Peverall-Potter-Black, A Duke, with 3 Earldoms and he was, even at his young age the most powerful magic user in Europe. It would be up to her and his other betrothed to prevent him becoming an unstoppable Dark Lord or dictator.

It was with that thought, that she snapped out of her childish mind set and thought oh Goddess what have I done. With that thought, she felt a sharp pain in her chest what...the oath she has sworn yesterday. She was breaking the oath she swore only yesterday, with a mental cry she stood up and hurried out of the room starting to run up the staircase to find Ari, no Aries and beg him to accept her apology, she needed his forgiveness. She had almost made it to the 1st floor when she was stopped by someone grabbing her arm.

Spinning round and reaching for her wand she saw a furious Fleur and Daphne. She tried pulling away, only for Fleur to tighten her grip and Daphne to join her, holding her other arm and taking her wand out of her hand. She was shouting that 'she needed to see Ari' over and over before she was hit with a _silencio_ from Daphne.

She gave up struggling before Daphne hit her with an _incarcerous_ and glared at them both until they released her, although Daphne still held onto her wand and watched closely. It was Fleur who started to speak much to her surprise. The older girl had been friendly and rather quiet since she had met her. But at that moment, she was emphatically reminded that you should never make a Veela angry. Kind, quiet Fleur, was on the verge of transforming to attack.

Now she growled out, with only a trace of an accent ''How dare you do that to our Aries, how dare you make demands of him, give him orders and threaten him like you would a child.'' Fleur shook her and started again ''What where you thinking, what did you hope to achieve, why did you not consult us, did you not see his pensive memories and listen to his families Guardian?'' Susan just looked up at her shocked. Seeing Fleur throw her arms in the air in frustration and say ''Bah! such a child... come with us we need to talk and vou will listen.'' grabbing Susan in an iron grip Fleur dragged her to the training room they knew was on the floor below the play room, with Daphne who was ominously silent following close behind.

On reaching their destination Fleur released her and after casting sealing spells at the doors directed Susan to the seating area overlooking the formal gardens and front terrace. With a sharp ''Sit'' from Fleur, Susan sat down on one of the sofas while Fleur and Daphne sat opposite her in two armchairs.

Neither of the two girls spoke to her straight away, Fleur because she was talking to the house elf she had just called, requesting iced water and Daphne because she was intently studying Susan, in full 'Ice Queen' mode. Oh, shit this was not good, Fleur had been bad enough but Daphne was an whole different proposition.

After the elf had placed glass and bottle of iced water on the side tables beside where they were sitting, Fleur thanked him and with a pop the 3 of them were on their own. None of them spoke as Fleur poured herself and Daphne a glass water; Daphne didn't movebut, continued to study Susan with a frightening intensity.

Finally, Daphne moved and after taking a sip of water, dropped her wand into her hand and cast a _finite_ on Susan to release the _silencio_ charm. Susan took a deep breath to start speaking when Daphne spoke for the first time, her voice low and very frosty ''Would you please explain to us, exactly what your rational was for addressing our mutual future husband in the manner you did, in the company of his inferiors?'' She waited taking a another sip of her water and then leaned forward with her elbows on the arms of the chair and her chin resting on both index fingers of loosely clasped hands watching Susan intently and waiting for an answer.

Susan didn't know how to answer that simple question. She had made a major mistake and it could cost them all, she looked across at Fleur who looked just as forbidding as Daphne. Great Circe she had better say something soon. Fleur looked ready to start throwing fire balls at her any second and Daphne was about to hex her.

Susan took a deep breath and a huge gulp of her juice to ease her suddenly parched throat and started talking hesitantly ''I was acting like a spoilt brat, I wanted to spend time with him..so I demanded he did what I wanted, I threatened him. I..I.I wasn't thinking, I forgot what we had seen and heard on Sunday, I forgot what Headmaster Black said. I forgot who Ari no, no he's not Ari that was my mistake. I forgot who and what Aries is and I treated him like 'little Harry Potter', not just that. I acted how I used to see Granger act, when she was bullying him into doing what she wanted.'' she stopped taking gasping breaths, tears now running down her face in a constant stream.

Fleur still not saying anything conjured a handkerchief and passed it to her, before sitting back in her seat with the same hard unforgiving expression she had assumed since entering the room.

Susan took a couple of shuddering breaths and looked at both of the other girls and in a pleading voice ''I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't know what to do now... I hurt so much what can I do to make this right, please help me I don't know how to fix this and Aunties so mad at me. Everyone's mad at me please help me fix this its hurting me.'' Susan had to stop then she taking deep gulping breaths and staring at the floor while the tears dripped off her cheeks.

Fleur spoke up and in a cold even voice ''The first thing you will do is compose yourself and cease your self indulgent blubbering, you are the Countess of Glamorgan and will be the Countess of Hereford, you are not an uninformed muggle-born so do not behave like one or the spoilt child you are portraying at ze moment. Bah I have no time for zis compose yourself.'' and stood up walking to the window and stood looking out over the grounds.

Daphne joined her casting a quick privacy charm around them and silently passed Fleur her water glass, before saying ''Do you think we can fix this, I clearly remember what Headmaster Black said about Aries not giving second chances. Oh Goddess how could she be so stupid we were doing so well and his reaction I watched the shutters go down and the walls rise up he has retreated into himself again, he has shut us out.'' Daphne stopped talking when she saw a tear role down Fleur face, putting her arm around the other girl she offered unspoken comfort for a while before Fleur took a handkerchief from her pocket and dried the tears and with a quick Veela spell her appearance was back to normal.

Fleur looked at Daphne and smiled slightly and saying calmly ''Thank you for zat, the first thing she has to do is try and appease the vow she made yesterday, that is why she is clutching her chest she is close to killing herself. That means that despite Phineas' assertion's Aries is still vulnerable to us and we can hurt him. Susan has obviously hurt him and the vow is close to extracting payment.'' Fleur stopped for a moment and expression of concentration on her face and said ''a formal letter will need to be written, but...I think, not delivered until after she has made a full, formal, witnessed apology to our betrothed.''

Daphne thought about this for a moment before nodding slowly in agreement and said ''Yes that should work and go some way to appeasing the magic of the oath. If and only if she feels true remorse. Oh that bloody imbecilic girl. Lets just hope she really is sorry, otherwise we will be looking for a prospective Lady Potter and burying the last scion of the Bones family.''

Daphne cancelled the privacy charm and together with Fleur returned to the seating area and their previous chairs. She was careful to keep her Ice Queen mask firmly in place, she thought to herself with a wry smile that if she didn't she'd hex the stupid girl into next week. Studying Susan closely she noted that whilst still upset she had recaptured some of her composure so decided to address the issue.

In a sharp, cold voice she stated ''Susan, you have obviously broken or are close to breaking the vow you made yesterday. This, is what we have decided you need to do at this point. Firstly, spend the rest of this morning in your room and reflect on what you did, why you did it and the possible consequences for all of the involved parties. Then you are going to sit down and write a full and formal apology, as the Heir to one of the 13 Great Houses, to the recognised Lord of three Great Houses and the second largest and prosperous Duchy in France. Not to mention the 2nd cousin once removed of the new Matriarch of the Veela Nation. Lord Aries is a very powerful young man and our Political, Social, Economic and Magical superior. You must recognise and internalise that fact before you go any further.''

Daphne paused to take a drink, before continuing in the same manner ''After, you have written the letter, you will seal it with your magic, but and this is most important you must not send it'' with a slight pause here, to regain control of her temper and to modulate her voice, which had been rising a little. Daphne stated ''You will not send it until after you have made a full, formal and public apology using the Old Blood Forms as the supplicant.'' Daphne stopped there and looked at Fleur who and been studying Susan intently whilst Daphne spoke.

To say Fleur was not happy would be an understatement she was literally flaming furious with Susan. She was angry because at the mention of the apology she had begun to assume a truculent and stubborn expression. Merde, Fleur was having none of that. After throwing the ball of fire that had erupted in her hand at a nearby training dummy and incinerating it, she fixed Susan with a glare and growled at her ''Vou will wipe that expression ov your face and you will do exactly as we have stated. It is, at the moment ze only zing vou can do to stop ze magique of zhe vow from enacting zhe consequences. Ve zhough ze Goddess knows vhy are trying to save your life, your magic, your future marriage and your Family name.''

Fleur didn't give Susan a chance to respond but took a deep calming breath and continued in a more controlled manner ''You hurt our Aries and you have to face the consequences of those actions or if the magic of the vow does not kill you, I will declare a Honour Duel and do the job myself.''

Fleur stood up and walked close to Susan until she was directly in front of her, forcing Susan to look up at her, her aquamarine eyes looked piercingly into those of the girl in front of her and she ground out in a frozen whisper ''Do. You. Understand what I have stated?'' still glaring at the source of her fury she saw a small nod, before spinning around giving Daphne a small bow and stormed out of the room absently breaking the charms on the door with a wave of her hand. She had been totally unaware that during her last tirade, she had been sporting a gold and red visible aura and radiating magical power, but the other two girls hadn't and could only sit and think about what had just happened.

After a couple of minutes Daphne also stood up and calmly looked at the cause of this scene. She collected her thoughts and addressed Susan in a flat even tone ''Do as we have instructed and keep your distance from Aries. If you force a rejection by trying to get close to him again too soon, magic will finish off the problem,'' seeing Susan gulp at that she smiled in grim satisfaction and continued ''At least something is making you take notice. I will talk to you Aunt about the actions we have begun and our discussions here. Don't approach Fleur or myself we need some time to try and repair the damage you have caused.'' Stopping there she turned to go and then stopped and looking over her shoulder said ''A small word of advice stop call our betrothed Ari, call him by his correct name if you say Aries enough times you may appreciate that you are not dealing with the fictional character Harry Potter, no such person exists and never did.''

With that Daphne calmly walked out of the room, with a sigh of relief she called for an elf and asked the elf who introduced herself as Mimi, 'Monseigneurs Belle Demoiselles maid', to direct her to the spa. The merry friendly little elf was ecstatic to do so telling her she had only to call as it was Mimi's duty to take care of le Duc's ladies.

Daphne had to smile at this happy creature and she made sure to thank her effusively when they reached the wonderful pool and spa room. After asking Mimi if she could bring her a change of clothes and notify Lady Fleur where she was, she changed into a two piece swimming costume that she was told was Missy Lilianes when she was young and slipped into the pool to swim some laps, hopefully it would help her lose some of the tension she was experiencing. Then she was going to sit in the spa and relax.

Two laps later she felt a presence and saw Fleur had joined her, with an exchange of smiles they both set about taking their minds off the problem they had left 3 floors above them.

Châteaux Chambord: Family Dinning Room, 1230 Tuesday May 17th 1994

As Ari approached the dinning room, he suddenly decided how he would handle Susan, he had spent time this morning when he left breakfast talking to Neville and that together with the last 20 minutes or so had set his resolve. Yes he had overreacted, but she had been as the muggle saying went 'totally out of order'. His conclusions, if she offered the appropriate apology, he would accept it with the proviso that she didn't do it again. When all was said and done, they were both quite young and he at least was new to his position and yes he **had overreacted**. With a firm nod he strode into the dinning room, unconscious of the fact that he looked the epitome of the powerful and confident young Lord he was.

Seeing everyone from that morning he offered a general greeting and headed for his customary place when Susan quickly stood up and approached him. The room went silent as she swept into a deep curtsy in her long summer dress and stayed down with her head bowed and in a clear voice with only slight shake said ''I Lady Susan Amelia Bones, minor Countess of Glamorgan offer you Lord Aries Jamille Chambord-Potter-Black, Duc de Bordeaux, Earl of Hereford, Radnor and Shropshire on my magic and honour; my heartfelt and genuine apologies for my appalling, infantile, selfish and unmannerly comment's and behaviour towards your Grace this morning. Will you accept my apology so that we may proceed from this point as two individuals who will one day be husband and wife.'' Susan looked up at this point, her face calm, but her eyes wide and sparkling with tears and her lower lip trembling slightly.

Aries stepped forward and taking her hand he gently pulled her up and looked at her with a small smile before saying softly '' I accept your apology Susan, I also acknowledge that I overreacted to a degree in my response to your words and the manner of their delivery. I only ask that you will not repeat your actions of this morning.'' he gave a small laugh, which relieved the tension in the room and lifted the corners of Susan's mouth slightly. He continued in a friendlier tone ''As you have seen I do not respond well to orders.'' His smile grew and he looked down at Susan before placing her hand on his arm and led her back to her seat next to her aunt. He then sat down between Fleur and Daphne and looked the table, there was a decidedly mischievous tone when he said ''I will have to remember, that orders should be treated like rules. More an advisory notice than something you have obey. Don't you think?'' a cheeky grin as he said this relieved any tension that was left.

Especially when Neville roared with laughter and said ''I thought that was already your modus operandi Ari, can't ever remember you following a rule or order since I've known you.''

While everyone around laughed (many in relief) at this, Ari faked a pout and in a whiny voice ''Nev, don't give away my secrets please. I'm only following the family tradition, what can you expect from a person who owes two thirds of his parentage to 2 people known to their close friends as Prongs and Padfoot, they also hold the all time Hogwarts record for detentions, I checked and belonged to a group of miscreants called the 'Marauders'.'' Almost everyone around was now chuckling, although Lucius and Amelia who knew the pair well were roaring with laughter and nearly fell off their chairs. Lucius did when Ari finished his antics with an innocent look and puppy eyes and ''All good boys want to be like their daddies don't they Aunt Cissa?'' His wide eyes sparkling with laughter and a grin trying to break onto his face.

Narcissa just looked at him laughing and shaking her head as she said ''Yes Aries and I promise they would be really proud of you right up until Tigger found out.'' This set everyone laughing again.

Anthony, Gabrielle and Pansy however looked a little confused until Celia took pity on then and explained ''I don't think all of you have been told as much as others about Aries parents have you?'' at receiving agreements to that statement from the confused ones, Celia continued ''James Potter, Sirius Black and Lily Chambord were animagi; James a stag, Sirius a big black mutt and Lily a white Bengal tiger. They gave each other's forms a name Prongs, Padfoot and Tigger respectively. The first two really did follow what Ari said, rules and orders were advisory notes only and they were the worst troublemakers and pranksters that Hogwarts has ever seen.'' She snorted and said ''I suppose we're going to need a name for Aries, to follow the tradition.''

Luna pipped up then and said ''Oh Ari has a name its Bagheera of course, just like in the Jungle Book. It fits much better than Kitten, Blacky or Lucky, so yes Bagheera fits Ari. ''

Ari smiled at the young girl and said ''Yes Luna, that will be my Marauder name. We'll just have to see who else can be an animagus. We can reform the 'marauders'.'' Winking at Amelia and Narcissa, when he finished.

Whilst the teens talked about animagi and marauders, asking Marilyn, Lucius and Celia question after question, Susan sat quietly beside her Aunt and Aries was instructed in the ins and outs of riding with Fleur, Daphne and Narcissa.

Lunch passed quickly and after the apology, very pleasantly. With jokes and a promise from Celia and Marilyn to help the teens with the animagus potion. Ari's contribution was a list of books for them to look for in the library.

**Chambord Estate: Southern Aspect of Châteaux 1320 Tuesday 17****th**** May**

After talking to Cissa at lunch Ari was quite relaxed about going riding and talking about the girls and the way his magic was reacting around them. Cissa, he knew also had something on her mind.

On reaching the stables both Cissa and Ari were delighted with how beautiful the horses were. An elf who introduced himself as Jean was ecstatic to to see them and tell them about the horses and their names and characteristics.

It seems the Dukes of Bordeaux were famous in muggle equestrian circles for their breeding of Hanoverian and Arabian horses. Making a lot of money in the process.

Learning that Ari had never ridden before he saddled a rather lovely light grey Arabian called Lune or moon in English, because of her silver grey colour with, a white mane and tail. She was 15 hands (5ft/1.5m to top of the shoulder),comfortable to ride, with an easy pace, a very good turn of speed and a soft mouth [bloody hell, Ari thought, what's a soft mouth?].

Narcissa's horse was a spirited light chestnut mare called Lys or Lily, because she was the last foal from his mother's mare. She was 14h3in (4ft11in/1.48m) and was very responsive.

Following Cissa's instructions Ari had no problem mounting although he was a bit surprised how far he was from the ground [thank the goddess he didn't give me a Hanoverian]. Cissa, who Ari had noted was dressed almost the same as he was except for the colour (Brown boots, beige pants) and the cream silk blouse, was very comfortable on a horse.

Jean placed Ari's hands correctly and adjusted his stirrups and they were off.

After 30 minutes of instruction Ari was very comfortable on Lune and when Cissa quickened the pace he had no problem keeping up.

By the time they had been riding an hour and had slowed to an easy trot through one of the vineyards, Cissa turned and congratulated him ''You dear godson are a natural, what do you think? Do you like riding?''

He beamed back at her and laughed ''Its great Aunt Cissa, especially when we cantered, its almost better than flying because you can feel the horse move with you and she is a beauty. Don't you think?'' he looked at Cissa with a big smile, and carried on before she could answer ''Its not as hard as my girls said it was.''

Cissa laughed with him and said ''Its not always this easy, I promise. Not everyone takes to it as well as you.'' She carried on before he could respond, with ''Ari, there is something I would like to ask you. Its something that's been bothering Luc... After your encounter with him last year why did you accept him so readily?''

Ari looked at her seriously considering his words ''We do not always show our true self, but what people expect to see.'' his tone was quiet and steady ''I had a lot of evidence that it was an act for another audience. First, Phineas' words about your family, secondly my parents journals, expanding on that. However, it was Dobby and my research on house elves that settled the matter. You cannot trick a master into freeing his elf, it has to be voluntary and Dobby told me it was a quickly ad libed scene Lucius was always going to attack me in public, so Dobby could protect me and give him a reason to 'free' him. So he could be with me 'officially', without raising suspicion.''

He looked at Cissa's surprised and pleased expression, with a smile he asked ''Does that about sum up the situation?''

Cissa laughed merrily then ''Yes Aries, that sums it up exactly, although you did surprise him with that sock trick, he came home raving about like mother like son and muttering about buying you some new socks.''

Ari laughed at that and then said ''I would not have written the letter I did, if I had any worries that Uncle Lucius would finish that spell aimed at me. Besides, the tip of his wand wasn't green'' smile ''Do you think Dumbledore noticed?''

Cissa laughed again, shaking her head no and then she changed direction with ''Right Aries, I know you want to ask me something. So shall I make it easier and ask if it has anything to do with you calling Fleur and Daphne 'my girls'.''

Ari looked at her shocked and loosed the reins causing Lune to increase speed pulling her back again to a walk, he looked at his godmother and with a wry smile started talking ''Well, when I first met the girls here, I felt a sort of pull towards them. I hadn't felt this before at Hogwarts with Daphne or Susan, but here its getting stronger the more time I spend with them. Its particularly with Susan and Fleur, though Daphne isn't that far behind now I think about it... and yesterday when I was taking some time out in one of the gardens a ball of mmm I could only call it magic shot into me and this is really weird, that magic made me feel …...loved I think is the closest and it felt like Susan's magic felt yesterday morning when it mixed with mine and my magic mixes with Fleur's as well and its like its starting to touch Daphne's magic and mm... I feel a sort of affection developing towards them and I've never, never ever had this feeling with a girl before even girls I know and I hardly know them.'' he stopped his gushing explanation and took a couple of deep breaths before looking at Narcissa and asking ''Is this normal Aunt Cissa or is there something wrong with me?''

Narcissa looked at Ari and thought how to explain this ''Now Aries I can explain most of this. But it would take longer than we have left on our ride, so I am going to give you a book to read for tomorrow when you are resting. But, I will give you the short version now.'' She dropped her wand into her hand and conjured two bottles of water with hooks to attach their belts and started giving him the short version.

''When you were 6 months old your magic started to react to Fleur and hers to you. A very old and specialised charm was cast on you both when you were together. It showed your magics were in total harmony. This confirmed you were a perfect match, an absolutely perfect match. The result of the 2 of you bonding would be a loving relationship, powerful magical children and lots of them if you are otherwise healthy. You had the same perfect response and magical harmony with Daphne and Susan. None of the parents objected to the polygamous nature of the future relationship, they all knew that you needed more than one heir and so the betrothal contracts were agreed. It is, very rare to be this compatible with more than one person.'' she took another drink and continued.

''Now, the three of you are going through puberty, so yours and the girls magic is now reaching for its compatible partner or in your case partners pleural. The speed this is happening though, is down to your Veela and Wood Nymph heritage. Lily was almost pure Veela and the Nymph trait has stayed in the Chambord line since it was introduced, centuries ago. Both Sirius' and James' Great Grandmother and Sirius' Grandmother were Veela. That means you are over ¾ Veela and though males can't transform or have the allure, your Veela side will drive you towards a perfect mate and draw that person to you.'' Cissa looked at him with a grin that made her look about 14 not 34 and said ''It also gives you those looks the girls drool over and the boys are jealous of.'' she laughed delighted at his deep blush and teased him a little bit ''Oh Ari, even you must admit you look good.''

At his sheepish smile she laughed again and said. ''Oh Ari, I love you so much, you really are a lovely person inside and out. Admit it to yourself even if you are too modest to admit it to others. Now I will stop teasing. Has that answered your concerns?''

Ari with his colour back to normal smiled and replied ''Yes, I understand now. I've never read anything about this, just a bit about Veela's, but that didn't mention male Veela. You'll give me the book before dinner won't you?'' at her nod he asked ''What about the flash of gold magic and the feeling of Susan?''

Cissa frowned a bit then ''I don't know Ari, it sounds a little like when someone makes a magical oath to another. The recipient of the oath often experiences something similar. However, I've never heard or read of the binding magic being gold. Hmm, I suggest you talk to Susan about it in a couple of days.'' she stopped but then said ''I have to say how proud I was of your response to Susan at lunch. You behaved perfectly and you showed the sort of person you are; honourable, modest, reasonable and compassionate.''

Ari looked at her again not knowing what to say so he just sent her his Potter grin and proceeded to look around at his surroundings. It was beautiful here, he would do this again tomorrow, maybe with the girls. Yes he really liked riding.

They had just picked up their pace to a fast trot when they came out of a small copse of trees and saw the house in front of them about a mile in the distance. Ari looked over and Cissa and saw that grin on her face again, he guessed what was about to happen and gave Lune a quick pat on her neck as a thank you before settling deeper in the saddle, vanishing the water bottle and taking a good relaxed grip (not tight) on the reins.

The minute Cissa moved from their fast trot straight into a gallop he dropped his hands and nudged Lune and was galloping just a step behind her. He seemed to be going impossibly fast, it was a wonderful feeling and better that flying on a stick, he thought; feeling his horses muscles bunching and stretching as she galloped beside Cissa's. They were neck and neck as they were about 50m (164ft) from the stables and began to slow, both of them grinning like lunatics.

By the time they were met be Jean in the stable yard, they were back to a trot and Ari turned to Narcissa still grinning ''Thank you so much Aunt Cissa, that was the best thing ever. Thank you.''

At that Cissa responded ''You're welcome Ari, I would ride every day if I could and this lovely lady was a pleasure to ride.''

After dismounting (a tricky manoeuvre for Ari) and a few moments of thanking their horses, Jean hustled them both away, saying it was his job to look after the horses and to come again soon.

After thank you' s to the elf, a quick tempus from Ari showing the time as 1600. Cissa looped her arm through his, as she often did with her Draco and in companionable silence, they strolled arm in arm through the hallway from the south wing to the informal drawing room and the terrace.

Sitting comfortably, in an arm chair with a good view of the valley, Ari called Jules and asked him to bring refreshments and a few snacks. He was still a bit warm after his ride so stripping his quidditch top off leaving a plain red T shirt he had just relaxed back and stretched his legs out, when Jules returned with a huge selection beverages, sandwiches, pastries and snacks.

Ari thanked him while grabbing a chicken and bacon sandwich and pouring a glass of grape juice . This was followed a huge gulp of juice, bite of sandwich and a sigh of satisfaction before stretching his arms above his head and looking over at Cissa.

She was looking very intently at Ari or more specifically his left arm. Ah, that was when he remembered he had not included its making in his pensive memories, come to think of it he hadn't included his wand either. He smiled lazily and said ''Its a magical focus Aunt Cissa, would you like one? I made this in the room when I made my wand. My old one couldn't cope with the unbound magic.'' Shooting, said wand out of the hidden arm holster and placing it on the table, for her to see. He continued ''I'll tell you how I made them when we are working on yours, but I'm planning on making a focus band for all the men and a bangle for all the ladies for Yule gifts. Do you think they would like that?''

To say she was surprised was an understatement, she was stunned ''You would be giving us an absolutely priceless gift.'' She was so excited she giggled ''When do you want to work on mine Ari?''

Ari laughed ''How about Wednesday, around 1100 it should be fun.'' Picking up his wand, he went back to his snack and quickly finished his sandwiches and juice before standing up stretching.

Rotating his left shoulder he frowned. Cissa looked at him with understanding and said ''You've used some new muscles today Ari, it wont be long before your body adjusts. Go have a soak, If I remember correctly there's a spa tub in your bathroom, so go soak for ½ hour call an elf for a mild pain reliever and muscle soak. You'll be fine by dinner.

Both left the terrace, Ari to soak and Cissa almost bouncing along going to see Lucius.

…...

AN: sorry got carried away with the apology, which wasn't in my original plan. But my 12 year old niece who blackmailed me into writing this story, likes it. Mind you if I wrote what her 16 year old sister wanted (I might, it will be a MA rating). Rituals and more of Hogwarts in the next chapter.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Please continue to comment on what you think or would suggest would improve the story. And **no flames** please after yesterday when I had a couple of vile ones, I will ignore them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 12**

Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world.

**AN: Note there is a f/f Lime in _italic _in this chapter. If you don't like it please don't read it.**

Thanks for the reviews and comments. Please let me know if you have any constructive advice.

Châteaux Chambord: Ritual Room- Cellars 2000 Tuesday 17th May1994 

Aries Potter-Black and Lucius Malfoy had just entered the ritual room following a pleasantly relaxed and convivial dinner.

Unknown to the older man, that is if you could call 34 old, especially for wizards, Ari had prepared this room the previous day. He had also studied this ritual extensively while he was in time distortion. The runes he had drawn in his own blood mixed with basilisk venom and phoenix tears, were quite complex and had been time consuming. They were there for 3 reasons, the first was to power the ritual by drawing magic from the ground, the second was to contain and focus the magic and the 3rd was to ensure the spell didn't affect anyone he didn't want it to. These measures would not have been necessary if he could deal with all of the individuals but, that wasn't possible, unfortunately.

Checking the ritual circle once more, Ari took a few minutes to meditate and centre himself. He could feel his magic thrumming and available for his use. Yes he was ready.

Standing straight and relaxed, Ari looked over at Lucius who inhaled deeply and nodded and walked into the circle.

Standing facing Lucius he smiled and asked '' Are you Ready to rock?''

Lucius chuckled softly and replied ''Only you would put it like that Ari and yes lets get this done and go and see Cissa.'' The last was said with a grin.

Both Ari and Lucius were dressed only in their linen trousers. This minimised any interference in the flow of magic.

Breathing out Ari and with a ''Best to kneel for this Lucius'', he slashed his left palm with the special rhodium Goblin made blade and waited for his blood to fill his palm before pouring the blood into the anchoring rune and watching as the new blood flowed around the circle, covering the prepared etchings.

Once the circle was complete he focused on his wand, not healing the wound yet and cast the initiation spell in Parseltongue. The magic began thrum through the rune forms as they lit up like a river of silver around both sides to meet at the apex and form a continuous flow of magical energy.

At that Ari knelt in front of Lucius and taking hold of his left arm, he reached out with his magic feeling the Dark mark and with the blood in his hand traced the outline. He directed his magic again, this time to Lucius' core focusing on where the vile connection was in his core. This was followed by drawing the Connecting Rune over the exact spot he could feel the Mark entering Lucius' core. All the time he was speaking in Parselmouth, saying the names of the people who were having the connection withdrawn.

When this was done he let out a small sigh of relief and sat back on his heels briefly while he focused on his band and healed the cut on his hand.

When this was done he placed left hand on Lucius' chest over the rune he had placed there and pointing his wand at the Dark Mark on his left arm. This was it, he began pulling in the magic causing the Rune circle to flare and seemingly ignite with green flames then he started casting the spell of removal (a modified _Morsmordre_) in Parselmouth followed by the six names again. All this time he was channelling the magic of the spell into Lucius and through him to the other 5 coerced Death Eaters.

Ari had never held as much magic as he did at the moment, he felt the sweat running down his face and his body. He was totally focused now as he felt the vileness that he knew was the late Thomas Marvolo Riddle alias Lord Voldemort it was like a tainted black reservoir of evil in Lucius' otherwise silvery grey core.

At the point he felt he would be ripped apart by the magic, Ari released it directly at the taint. This concentration of magic, was focused in a tightly controlled and continuous flow, all aimed at the taint.

Saying the reversal and removal spell over and over for each of the people it was aimed at, he Ari could feel as the mark was removed from each of them one by one until there was only Lucius left. He frowned deeply at one point, one of those people was not as unwilling as previously thought. Oh well they could take care of Mafalda Hopkirk at a later date. Now, with a final push and Lucius' name one last time, the mark released and the last of the vileness was gone. Finally, he stopped the spell and the flow of magic and dropped his hands to his side. Thanking the Goddess that it was done.

LMLMLMLMLMLMLMLM

Lucius had never felt anything like it, he felt as if surges of ice cold fire were pouring through his body in time to his magic. It was an indescribable feeling of being purified and rejuvenated, it was as if his body and his very soul were being cleansed and repaired in their entirety. He began to feel safe and complete for the first time in 18 years. Lucius didn't know how long they knelt there, but suddenly the feeling retreated and he looked across at Ari.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ari opened eyes that had been closed since the ritual started and looked straight at Lucius. What he saw made the effort totally worth it.

Lucius was looking straight at him with a look of wonderment on his face. His eye were clear and sparkling with life, his body was relaxed and he looked happier than Ari had seen him look in the last 2 days. It was as if a mask had been stripped from him and this was the real Lucius Malfoy, without artifice or external influences.

He smiled slowly at Ari and said softly ''Thank you, Thank you for giving me my soul back.'' After receiving an equally soft '' You're welcome.'' In response both of them sat quietly for a moment, Ari changing his position to sit cross legged with his elbows on his knees and face resting on his hand just catching his breath and relaxing.

After about 5 minutes, Lucius asked ''Are you up to moving Ari? I thought we could go and have a night cap and reassure Cissa that we are alive and well?''.

When Ari nodded in agreement, Lucius stood and pulled him up, before pulling him into a hug and saying ''Your parents would be very proud Aries. I am very proud of you. '' Before, slapping him on the back and saying ''Come on then I think a glass of celebratory scotch with your godmother is called for.''

Chambord Family drawing Room 2200 Tuesday 17th May

It was a now fully dressed and somewhat tired pair of wizards who entered the family drawing room in companionable silence. Only to be pounced upon by a white faced but smiling Narcissa.

Narcissa Malfoy, a daughter and current Matriarch of the Black Family and Countess of Wiltshire, Viscountess Combe, had spent the last 2 hours chewing her lip and pacing the length of the Chambord family drawing room. She had sent the rest of the inhabitants and guests to the muggle room following dinner, excusing herself saying that she had told Lucius and Ari she would be here waiting for them.

The only other occupant of the room being Marilyn Abbott, who stayed in case Ari or Lucius needed medical treatment. She was sat quietly in a comfortable armchair reading a charms book and sipping a glass of wine, knowing Narcissa would not appreciate meaningless small talk or be interested in a more serious conversation. She was also closer to the Ritual Room if the head elf summoned her (as ordered), should either man? Man. Yes, she had to admit that sadly Aries Potter-Black was no longer a boy, need assistance before they returned.

There had been some protests from Draco and Ari's betrothed. But, Narcissa had told them, that both of the ritual participants would not be interested in company when they returned. It was highly likely, that Ari in particular would be too tired for anything other than a pepper up and energy potion before he retired for the night.

So for 2 hours she had fretted nervously, unable to concentrate on anything, then the doors opened and in came two of her boys.

Lucius was rocked by the force with which a blond haired missile hit him. His normally composed and poised wife was babbling and crying whilst running from himself to Ari hugging them and checking for injuries.

''Shh Cissa, we're fine'' trying to reassure her and hugging her tightly '' we're fine...shh, come sit down. We'll let Marilyn check us out and all have a drink to celebrate.''

Cissa looked up at him asking ''You're Ok, but Ari?'' looked over at Ari who had stepped away when Lucius held her and sat down on one of the love seats with his feet up in front of him.

Ari smiled softly answering the anxious question he could see in her eye's ''I'm fine Aunt Cissa, only a little tired and the ritual was a success.'' He smiled again as Cissa left Lucius and gave him a tight hug before kissing his forehead whispering ''Thank you my darling'' and sitting down opposite Ari calling Lucius to join her.

Marilyn quickly ran a scan on Ari pronouncing his magic low and giving him a pepper up, before doing the same to Lucius and although his magic levels were fine.

While Lucius was being checked Ari had called Jules and asked for a bottle of champagne for the ladies and a bottle of scotch for himself and Lucius.

All 4 of the settled down to discuss what had happened and have a celebratory drink.

Lucius raised his eyebrows at the bottle of Bruichladdich 140 year old single malt whiskey, before taking a sip and rolling the smooth liquid around his mouth.

Ari's reaction to having his first ever taste of this type of muggle alcohol was to cough, take a smaller sip and the blurt out ''Woar I like that I don't think I'll ever have fire-whisky again.'' The adults laughed at this, although Marilyn told him to limit himself to one glass only because his magic was still quite low.

It was only about 2240 and Ari felt his eyes getting heavy and gave a jaw cracking yawn.

Seeing this Marilyn finished her champagne and ordered ''Come on Aries time for bed, lets leave Cissa and Lucius to go and reassure the others and I'll come with you.'' she helped him up before continuing ''I have to go home tonight anyway, I have a clinic tomorrow at St Mungo's''.

After a hug from Lucius and Cissa, Ari called it a night not to be seen for the next 12 hours.

Chambord Châteaux: Ground Floor, River Terrace, 13:30 Wed 18th May

Ari and Cissa walked out to the river terrace and exchanged greetings with Celia and the other teens who were waiting for them.

They had spent a wonderful 3 hours together that morning and had had a private lunch together. In Ari's suite. They had been working on Narcissa's focus bangle and just bonding, as godmother and godson.

Now Cissa could not wait to show everyone her wonderful gift. Fortunately, Ari had some prepared bangles in the various precious metals and it had not taken long to choose the cores. The majority of the time had been taken adding the focus stone and charging the Runes.

Narcissa for her part, had loved spending that time with her godson, he was so, generous, kind and dare she say loving and now she was the proud owner of a unique yellow gold bangle.

It was just 10mm in diameter and contained; the wing feather of a Pegasus, a Chimera claw and phoenix tears. It was decorated with beautiful runes spiralling around its circumference, these were inlaid with red gold or 'blood' gold as the Goblins called it, because that had been infused with her own blood.

Narcissa loved the bangle, the use of her own blood had bound it to her and it would cause serious injury to any other person if they attempted to use it, except some one who shared her blood. The focus stone had fittingly come from the Black Family vault, it was a rare flawless, 8ct blue diamond, the cushion-cut enhancing its depths and cold fire. The stone was set where the two halves fused together when fastened. It was also far, far more powerful than her wand and aesthetically the most beautiful pieces of jewellery she had ever owned.

They had decided the previous night, to meet after lunch and go riding. They all wanted to explore some of the beautiful estate they could see from the windows. After all, they reasoned they would be spending a lot of time here from now on.

Cissa was showing Celia the bangle and Ari smiled when he saw all the girls crowding around the 2 women, all of them were raving at its complexity and beauty. They all appreciated how unique and special it was. They also acknowledged that this would become a very valuable family heirloom for future descendants of Narcissa's bloodline.

It took about 5 minutes for the first of the girls (Luna) to start looking at Ari with a pleading look on her face. Ari just smiled and told them he would make them all one, but only after he came back from doing his OWL's and NEWT's. This mollified them somewhat, however, when he said he would get them all to pick their components after dinner tonight, he had to extricate himself from under a pile of exuberant teenage girls.

Whilst Ari was extricating himself he looked over at the boys and noticed that they were desperately trying not to look envious of the girls for receiving such and item.

When he was finally free, he addressed them softly with '' Hey guys, I'll be making a focus for you as well as your fathers.'' At their sudden smiles he gave a mischievous grin and continued in an innocent voice ''I rather thought you would prefer something more manly like mine.'' Pushing up the left sleeve of his Arsenal shirt to show his band and before they could come out of their wide eyed stupor he carried on ''But if you pretty boys are set on the femme style don't let me stand in the way of freedom of expession.''

At the dumbfounded looks and faint blushes from the other 4 boys he broke down and gave into laughter. The boys did not take this response well and with a cry of ''git, you'll pay for that.'' The 4 boys hexed him before he could react.

Within 20 seconds even the women were holding their stomachs to stop the pain of laughing so hard.

Ari had a pink bouffant hair style and full make-up (Anthony), a pink frilly short dress (Draco) , 3 inch silver stiletto heeled shoes (Blaise) and a flashing sign over his head saying 'I'm a naughty Princess'.

Ari looked down at himself and ran or tried to run a hand through his hair before someone kindly conjured a mirror in front of him. This resulted in him looking like a drowning goldfish. Before giving into laughter at the sight he presented.

When everyone had settled down, he banished the mirror as Cissa used her new focus and changed him back to his previous appearance.

He looked at the still smiling boys and asked ''So I take it you prefer the arm band then?''

Receiving an affirmative from them they all gathered round to look at the band and marvel at the workmanship and masculine beauty of the piece.

Everyone was settling down at this point and Celia was about to get out the schedules to show them when Polaris flashed in and surprisingly landed on the arm of Daphne's chair, with a letter in his mouth.

Daphne looked at Ari uncertainly and when he stated ''Besides the fact that Pol wouldn't offer you anything harmful, it wouldn't get through wards if it was.'' With a nod she took the letter and with a thank you and some petting to Pol (who flew to sit on the balustrade by Ari), she opened the letter.

Everyone watched, with various degrees of curiosity as Daphne's lips curved in a smile. This smile soon became a full blow grin, giggles escaping from her as she read the letter, before putting it down and laughing hysterically. She contained herself and looked around seeing looks of impatience on her friends' faces and with a hastily repressed giggle said.

''Its a letter from Tracy.'' Followed by more giggles and finally a deep breath before continuing

'' Roger, her cousin is the Ravenclaw quidditch captain. Both he and Oliver Wood, were on their way to Hooch's office yesterday morning. They saw a room that neither of them had seen before. They heard some whimpering and moans coming from the room and thinking it could be someone hurt, they blew the door open...and well, I'll read the rest.

…..._Daph, Imagine their surprise, instead of somebody crying or hurt, they find the Weaselette on her knees, stark naked, head between the Bossy Beavers thighs, engaging in rather vigorous oral stimulation, I'll leave the rest to your imagination darling. _

_Can you imagine it, yuk, what self respecting female would go down on that bitch. But apparently, 'Bushy' was an excellent nickname according to Roj. He said he doubted it was the first time the Weaslette's been in that position because she was going at like a professional. Seriously grossed me out I tell you. Roj said they put on a good show though. _

_The Beaver was the one who was moaning, her knickers were around her ankles and she was holding onto Weasels head like a it had a sticking charm. According to Roj the Beaver had the Weasels head held that tight against her 'pleasure button', its a wonder the little tart didn't suffocate._

_Anyway, apparently they were totally oblivious to Roj and Wood so Wood (who hates the Beaver because she picks on his seeker) ran and called Flitwick ,you know it was only 3 rooms from his office. How stupid can the griffs be. Anyway, Roj cast a freezing charm on them until Wood came back._

_Here's the best bit Daph, McGonagall was with Flitwick and all hell let loose. They both lost 100 points each, got detention 5 times a week until the end of the year and are on probation next year until Yule break. That should stop her acting like she's already head girl, Merlin 'Brightest Witch of the age'. I ask you who ever started that nonsense has been taking too much Poppy Juice Potion_

_Anyway, the best bit is Roj had his camera with him and he got photos, they're in every dorm now and the two tarts haven't shown their faces since dinner last night when the two of them got individual howlers from 'Molly the Mouth '. Never seen Bushy so quiet, especially when Bulstrode asked her how much she paid the Weaslette and how much would she pay her to do a proper job. _

_Anyway, according to Pav and Lav she hasn't come from behind her bed curtains since running out of dinner after Millie's comment. I've put a copy of the photo with this letter and this beautiful Phoenix just flashed in and wants to take the letter. So I'll write soon_

_Let me know when I'm seeing you this summer and what's going on. According to Dad, your Dads in the thick of it and Mr Cute and Dangerous is involved. _

_Write to your best friend soon soon, I miss you._

_Love Your best friend. _

_Tracy _

Daphne put the letter down and passed the photo to her mother whilst all of the other teens were laughing uproariously as she finished reading the letter.

Ari was the first of the teens to calm down and had a rather vicious smile on his face as he softly and coldly said ''Now is the time to strike the coup de grace.'' and called for Jules asking for parchment and writing materials and the red and gold file from his desk.

Cissa looked at him questioningly and asked. ''Aries, what are you doing?''

''Oh sorry Aunt Cissa, I'm going to cripple Bushy and the Weasels financially and socially. They just gave me an 'in' earlier than I was planning.'' Looking at Celia he said ''Could you do two copies of that photo for me please Aunt Celia?''

Jules returned with a lap desk and the items he had asked for. Ari opened the folder quickly took out 3 part completed letters and very quickly wrote additions to the bottom, before stopping and appearing to think a moment then adding to the 3rd letter and making another copy of the photo. After attaching a photo to each letter, he sealed them and gave then to Pol saying ''If you wouldn't mind my friend. Blue seal for Hottingers, green for Gringotts and red for my dear, dear friend Miss Rita.'' At Pols soft trill, he gave him the letters and the phoenix flashed away.

Ari banished the lap desk back to his private study and sat back with a satisfied smirk, before picking up his glass of grape juice and draining the glass he looked up at the 15 pairs of eyes looking at him questioningly.

With a ''What?'' and a smug grin, he waited for the question on everyone's mind.

It was the quiet Blaise who got in first with a ''Come on Mr Cute and Dangerous, spill.'' Followed by nods and ''yes do tell.'' from the others.

Ari blushed at being reminded of that comment, but deciding to ignore it, he mock sighed and in a casual voice said ''Hottingers, to recall all the Beavers stolen funds to the Potter account it was taken from. Gringotts, the same for the Weasels in addition to cancelling the Consort contract and return of the 'Bride Price'. That photo proves breach of contact i.e. the littlest Weasel is now 'Spoiled'. Finally, my favourite, a letter to my dear friend Rita Skeeter detailing all of that, plus the information and proof that Granger is Dumbledore's Great, Granddaughter and involved in his scheme.'' He rested back again with a satisfied smile.

At the response there was general laughter again and a ''That was brilliant, bro. Do you think we can get an elf to spy on breakfast tomorrow at jolly old Hogwarts.'' This was received with nods and 'Oh yea I'd pay for that' from Pansy.

Ari answered with ''I'll get Dobby to go from Potter Castle and he can take a memory crystal. That would definitely be worth seeing and knowing Rita, she'll have it done by the morning edition.'' He gave a laugh at that and then said ''Oh well, enough of my pranks. Lets go riding. I want to go to the North of the estate today along the river.'' With everyone agreeing, all 16 made their way to stables.

They had a wonderful ride, all of them ending up liking the beautiful Arabians. Pansy and Fleur, fell in love with their mounts, 2 particularly beautiful black stallions who were brothers.

They rode in relaxed ever changing groups, discussing their new class schedules. All things considered they were pretty good. They had been presented with 2 choices. The first involved 5½ days of schooling, with 5 hours of study a day. The second option and their choice, involved 4 longer days.

It was decided, that they would only have one theoretical assignment a week for each subject and would cover all 10 OWL subjects. Ari was amenable, saying that he had done longer days so it should be no problem for the others. The main difference from Hogwarts was, they would have a week off for every 8 weeks they studied. Needless to say, this idea was greeted very enthusiastically by the youths.

It comprised;

Monday and Wednesday;

0900-1030 Herbology (Greenhouse's)

1030-1200 Care of Magical Creatures (Forest and clearing)

1200-1300 Lunch

1300-1430 Magical Defence and Offence (North Wing 3rd floor training room)

1430-1600 Runes (North Wing 1st Floor library and Family Study)

1600-1700 Astronomy (Library with charmed ceiling)

Tuesday and Thursday

0900-1030 Charms (3rd floor training room)

1030- 1200 Potions (North Wing 2nd floor Potions Lab and workrooms)

1200- 1300 Lunch

1300-1430 Transfiguration (3rd floor training room)

1430-1600 Arithmacy

1600-1700 History

Xeno would take over Eastern arts from Ari once the other teens were ready. Ari had a secret smile at this, he had told Xeno (and only Xeno) about his time-turner and he would be training Ari on his secret extra day on Thursday evenings.

All in all, it worked out really well with the teens deciding to use the balcony and sitting area of the games room for lunch, so they wouldn't have to leave the North wing. The portkeys to the creature enclosures and the greenhouse's were already organized.

It was a great day, full of relaxation and fun. When Ari retired for the night after beating Daphne at Super Mario and the loosing to Fleur, he was happier than he could remember being before in his life.

Unfortunately, tomorrow would not be as good. Whilst he was looking forward to dealing with the loyal Death Eaters, permanently, he was not looking forward to the polyjuice examination and memory extraction.

Despite this, he went to sleep instantly with a smile on his face. Life might not be perfect, but it was looking good.

Elsewhere, others were not as happy with their current situation.

Corsham Court Wiltshire, 2200 Wednesday 18th May 

In a cold damp dungeon underneath the elegant and luxurious Corsham Court, commonly known as Malfoy Manor, a man lay shackled to the floor. Severus Snape, Potions Master, Hogwarts Professor, Spy, Greasy Git and all round bastard had been called by Lord Lucius Malfoy to answer questions about his negligence with regards to the disappearance of the Malfoy Heir.

He remembered nothing after a flash of white light as he came through the flue. He woke up to his current situation, with no idea of how long he had been here. He was naked, cold, thirsty and shackled by his ankle in what appeared to be a rather unpleasant dungeon. He was also faced with an individual he knew was one of the shadowy members of the Department of Mysteries, an Unspeakable.

He had been silenced and fed what he knew to be a Depressant potion to lower his mental defences. There was really only one reason for this, to use Legilimency on a Master of Occulemency, like himself.

That was what followed, the Unspeakable scanned through his mind, missing nothing and leaving him whimpering, with an unbearable headache. Throughout this long process, the only words spoken were ''You really are a seriously twisted bastard.'' Before leaving him alone in pain and in the dark.

No life was not good for Severus Snape.

Ministry of Magic, same time and day

Unlike his servant and spy Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore knew exactly where he was and how long he had been there.

He had been attending and emergency session of the Wizengamot. He had seen his support in that assembly dissolve, a 3rd powerful faction emerge and himself be suspended from his most impotant post and then be detained to answer questions about his unlawful actions towards the Potter brat.

He had expected his supporters to have him liberated within a hour, 2 at most. But no, he was still here 2½ days later and he now knew that his plans were unravelling. He had been subjected to Veritaserum questioning and without the antidote in his system he had no resistance. The first thing he was going to do when he was back in his rightful place was sack that bitch Bones and close the Department of Mysteries.

It was fortunate he had made Fudge sign the waiver to exempt him from criminal charges. He would just have to rest and show them that his actions were all for the benefit of the Wizarding world. They would never find the original code that said no one was immune to punishment for crimes that caused harm to another. That had been the first law he had expunged from records and memories. Idiots, why did they think he cancelled Wizarding Culture and Law classes at Hogwarts, he couldn't take the risk of anyone learning what he knew. After all only he knew what was best for everyone.

He would be fine, he just had to get more sleep here. Without the power of Hogwarts to draw on he was bound to be a bit weaker. Fortunately, he was the most powerful wizard in the world and they would do as he told them. They always did.

He settled down to sleep again, shivering for a second when an ominous feeling of pending danger swept over him. Telling himself he was just missing his hot chocolate he ignored the feeling and went to sleep.

…...

Leaving it there. I'm not completely happy with this chapter but will leave it for the moment. Still thinking about the intimate scenes, my 16yr old niece may want them, but I am a 53 year old woman of the 70s and 80s and there is no way I could write an innocent scene of this nature. Please let me know if you want the rating to go up to allow for a citrus orchard in a few chapters, when the protagonists will be 'of age' for the UK law, ie 16.

Thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 13

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 13**

Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world.

***Important please read***

**There will be a scene of torture, with some very cruel elements at the end of this chapter. I will be indicating its start and end, if you do not like this please skip it. **

*****Please treat this chapter as M rated.*****

Chambord Châteaux, 0900 Thursday 19th May

After the relaxing and very rewarding previous day, Ari was not looking forward to this morning at all. He was currently sat in the estate office, as opposed to his private adjoining study. Having just consumed his modified Polyjuice potion, he was now and for the next 6 hours 'Harry Potter', more specifically 'Harry Potter' of a week ago. It was not a nice experience, he had forgotten how weak and puny he was and how bad his eyesight had actually been.

Instead of his normal exercise regime he had breakfasted earlier in his suite and sent a message to Narcissa that he would meet her, Richard, the healers, Xeno, Marie and Amelia in the Estate Office or Duc's Study as the elves called it on the 1st floor, at 0900. He had also called Mimi and asked her to inform his ladies that he would be unavailable that day, but would be at their disposal the following day from 1100.

Aries had decided that they did not need to use Châteaux La Rochelle as had previously been planned . This day was going to be unpleasant enough for him as it was so it would be better if he was at least in familiar surroundings.

He had spent the previous 1½ hours relaxing in the jacuzzi and deciding which memories to give for Dumbles' hearing. With his decision made (much more difficult than he had anticipated), he got ready for the unpleasant part of the day.

On that thought, with a pop Jacques arrived accompanied by Cissa and Richard. They had just sat down when the ward on the door triggered and a few seconds later Jules entered and introduced his 'guests'.

''Monseigneur le Duc; Lady Amelia Bones, Director of ze British DMLE, Seigneur Marcel Delacour, Directeur de la France Magique Directorate de Justice, Unspeakable Shadow of the British Department of Mysteries, Healers Hestia Jones and Marilyn Abbott of St Mungo's, Healer Dupont of St Emilles and Healer Von Koenig of the ICW. '' Jules made a deep bow to him and then turning to the visitors he said ''His grace Aries Chambord-Potter-Black le Duc de Bordeaux.'' Before bowing and leaving.

Ari stood up from behind the desk, stumbling very slightly, not being used to his 'old' physique and formally greeted his guests, following the pureblood forms.

''Thank you all for coming so promptly, I would like to introduce my companions.'' He gestured to Cissa first ''My Godmother, cousin and proxy the Lady Narcissa Black-Malfoy, Countess of Wiltshire and my solicitor Lord Richard Goldsmith, Earl of Somerset.''

Once all had been greeted and welcomed individually, he motioned to a comfortable seating area and calmly inquired ''Shall we take a seat and be comfortable?'' before sitting on a formal Louis XV love seat with Cissa beside him.

It was Amelia who started ''If we could Lord Potter Black, I think we should carry out the medical scans and examinations first, as you know healers are very busy individuals. Is that acceptable?''

''That's fine Director Bones.'' He replied.

Looking at the four healers he asked ''What do you need me to do?''

It was Marilyn who answered in a brisk professional manner with ''I will just transfigure the screens and we can do the scans.''

With that, a coffee table became an examination table and a chair became a moveable screen, which obscured the view for Xeno, Amelia, Richard and Marcel.

Marilyn continued ''Now Lord Aries, you will need to remove your outer clothing and hop up onto the table''

Ari blushed slightly and to save the embarrassment of undressing in front of an audience, he used his wand to vanish his clothes leaving only a pair of silk boxer trunks, before sitting on the edge of the table.

What followed, was one of the most uncomfortable and embarrassing episodes he had experienced, needless to say he did not appreciate being nearly naked and under scrutiny.

Ari had hated his body before his time in the RoR and had done everything to prevent others seeing his scars and undersized body, he had been ashamed that he had not fought harder to prevent the abuse. He had always felt that it was his own fault that his 'relatives' had beaten and starved him. He knew deep down, that he could not have prevented their abuse, however, knowing something and accepting it were two entirely different things.

All four healers cast numerous diagnostic spells whilst, 4 individual scrolls of parchment recorded the results automatically.

As the magical examination continued, the frowns and expressions of shock, disbelief and anger, deepened on the healers faces. After a full 30 minutes, the diagnostic charms were complete. There were 4 very, very long scrolls of parchment filled with a complete inventory of every injury, illness or spell he had ever been subjected to. Healer Von Koenig's as a spell damage expert, had even been able to identify the magical signature of most of the spells used on him and his face had darkened significantly at how many times the names Dumbledore, Snape and Prewitt-Weasley appeared.

The healers were not on their own in their reactions, Narcissa, who (together with Amelia, Richard, Marcel and Xeno) was reading the results as they appeared on the parchment, looked ready to kill someone as tears streamed down her face. In fact the others eyes, regardless of gender were also suspiciously bright.

It was summed up by the ICW healer Von Koenig who looked at him in a mixture of shock, awe and sympathy. ''Mein got! dat you are even alive and sane after this,'' waving his parchment printout ''this .. maltreatment is unbelievable and that you are not a squib is a miracle.''

Ari looked at all of the adults and calmly said ''Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Is that all we need for the medical and magical examination?''

Marilyn answered ''Yes Lord Aries, I will leave with my colleagues now'' indicating the other 3 healers ''and we can decide the best course of treatment and actions to rectify the damage you have received, both medical and magical.'' The other 3 healers nodded and left the room with her, having confirmed to Amelia and Richard that they would be available to testify on Monday at the Dursley's and Dumbledore's hearings and giving copies of the examination results to both Richard and Amelia.

Ari breathed a sigh of relief and summoned his clothes before once again sitting down in the love seat and calling Jules for refreshments. When everyone was settled down sipping coffee, juice or iced water. Richard spoke up ''What have you decided for the memories Aries?''

Ari looked around at his allies and friends and said ''I thought 2 or 3 from each year.'' At the nods of agreement from Amelia, Xeno and a 'that should do it' from Richard it was decided.

This began the very painful process, Amelia asked what memory it would be and marked the unbreakable vials as Xeno removed the memory and placed it in the vial, while the whole process was officially witnessed by Marcel and Richard.

In total it took 2 hours for the memories to be taken, correctly identified and a single copy to be made. This copy was placed in a special solicitors pensive and would allow everyone there to view the memories, before the copies were destroyed.

By the time he had finished Ari was white, shaking and exhausted. He slumped down in an armchair and drained the glass of iced water that Cissa handed him, before closing his eyes and resting his head back on the sofa with a sigh. Without moving or opening his eyes and slurring his speech slightly he asked '' Will that be enough?''.

Amelia nodded and softly answered ''Yes, Aries. I don't think we need anything more and you are exhausted. We do need to view the copies though so that Richard and I will know what questions to ask. Is that Ok with you?''

Ari looked up then and just nodded yes before ''If you will excuse me, I am going to take the antidote to the Polyjuice and then rest and relax for the rest of the day.'' He looked at Narcissa, and asked ''Aunt Cissa, you could ask Lucius to meet me here at 19:30 tonight for our discussion. If there is a problem, call Jules to inform me.''

The message behind those word was clear, he did not want to see anyone for the rest of the day. Xeno gave an almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgement that he had received the message. There was no change to their plans, they would still deal with Snape and the Death Eaters tonight. With that and a last hug from Cissa, Ari left the room and made his way up the hidden private stairs to his suite.

Marcel spoke for the first time in a while, his voice hard and his face a stony mask. ''I will need a copy of the examination. I will be bringing charges with ze Judicature de Magique, Aries is not only a citizen of France, he is also my future son and will be the father of my heirs. I will be pressing charges in France. I do not trust Dumbledore not to escape Justice in Britain and I will not allow his crimes to go unpunished''.

The others nodded in agreement at that, Amelia remembered with chilling clarity the old man's assertion that he was immune from prosecution.

Cissa sank back into the sofa he had just vacated and sighed, before looking up at the others with an expression that reminded them all that she the current Matriarch of the Blacks before saying ''Lets get this over with we need to view these memories.''

Xeno looked at Amelia and Richard, who were both sat sipping cups of coffee and asked ''Are you ready for me to activate?''

They both summoned their note pads and Amelia produced a crate of tamperproof and unbreakable shrunken vials and motioned for Xeno to start. With a tap of his wand on the activation rune on the rim of the large solicitors Pensive, a projection of the first memory appeared in the air above it.

The memories started when Aries was 15 months old, with a view of what Amelia knew to be the cottage at Godrics Hollow. To the side of the projection was a moving glint of red hair, and it was clear that in Ari's memory he was being held by a red haired person (probably a woman, his mother Lily Potter);

_A 21 year old James Potter looked around an average sized comfortable sitting room and with a frown ''Where's the rest of the order and where's Siri? Dumbles said this meeting was of paramount importance. I have a bad feeling about this Lils. (Wand waving from James and glowing blue walls, door and windows). Followed by ''We're bloody trapped, the walls, windows and door are warded to prevent whoever is in here from leaving. More spells aimed around, then James almost shouts ''Merlin Lils its a prisoner ward.'' Growls from James and ''That old bastard has bloody trapped us us. We were right, we knew he wasn't to be trusted, he has an unhealthy interest in Ari, he just wants our son under his control.'' A crash was heard and a high pitched chilling laugh a flash of red hair drifted into view, then. … ''Quick Lily, this was a set up, He's here take Ari and run I'll hold him off. The sight of a red eyed Voldemort with Peter Pettigrew and Severus Snape behind him and spells being exchanged before...A door being blown open and the view of a Lily Potters back and __''Stand aside silly girl there is no need for you to die stand aside...''. A cruel sneering face appears as his mother falls and a 15 month old looks up at the man with his hand reaching out and a cry of ''Mama, Pa, Da!''. _

_Then the words ''Silly mudblood and now you must die Harry Potter...Avada Kedavra'' a green beam heading straight at the person whose memory it was a tiny hand is held up and as the green beam hits the hand a flare of gold and the beam now gold mixed with the green shoots back at the cruel face only a small sliver of the gold and green fire getting past the raised hand, bluring of the image, a childs wail and a mans scream, an explosion of sound and darkness..._the memory ends.

The 4 viewing the memory's stopped there and look at each other Xeno and Richard had tears running down their faces, Amelia and Narcissa were sobbing.

After about 15 minutes Xeno clears his throat and says ''I don't think anyone ever asked him if he remembers that night did they?'' at the negative head shakes and 'no', from the 2 women he continues ''Ok, ladies? Richard? shall we get on with this?''

''Yes, lets get this over.'' Amelia replied

But Cissa shook her head slightly and said ''Give me a moment.'' Jules was called and was requested to fetch Lucius, who was in their suite going over Ari's accounts and also to bring 5 calming potions, they all needed them.

10 minutes later Lucius and Jules returned and Cissa ran to him crying again ''Luc, you need to see these memories if we are going to support and understand our new son.'' Lucius held her as she cried again and looked questioningly at the others.

Richard sighed ''Its the memory of when James and Lily were killed''. He swallowed, before looking up with tear filled eyes and whispered ''He saw it all Lucius and he remembers, Goddess help him he remembers.''

Lucius nodded understanding and gently extricating himself from Narcissa. Rather than activate the projection runes on the pensive he placed his finger on the rim and was sucked into the memories. Exiting a few minutes later, he immediately sat by Narcissa and wrapping his arms around her, he held on and cried soundlessly. He cried for the dear friends he had lost and the child, now young man who he was beginning to love as a son. The child who had seen his mother killed literally front of him, before he was 2 years of age.

After about 10 minutes and a calming potion each, the now 5 occupants of the office decided to view the rest of the memories and get it over with.

Xeno once again activated the projection rune and the next memory played.

_A recognizable crooked nose and white bearded face looking down while a wand was moving in intricate patterns over the person whose memory this was. Once finished a voice easily recognizable as Dumbledore's was heard ''There that will do nicely, just what is needed. I cannot have another powerful wizard leaving my control now can I? Nor can I have a spoilt Prince, no a forcibly subdued child suits my purposes much better.'' Followed by a cold cruel laugh and the blurring of the memories, it was obvious that tears now obscured the the picture and this was reinforced by a child's loud scream that was heard before the memory faded.._

On and on for the next 2 hours. They viewed 11 and a ½ years of memories, memories full of neglect and starvation, physical abuse, mental abuse, accidental magic, slavery and at least an annual visit from Dumbledore and Snape to heal Ari's injuries, to check or re-bind his magic after he lashed out at the Dursley's in self defence and the obliviation of the child memories. One light moment, was 'the great Harry Potter hunt' when at age 6 he discovered apparation and led Dumbledore and Snape around Great Britain and most of Western Europe. Eventually being cornered by Dumbledore, Snape, Mad-Eye Moody and both Weasley parents. This episode of course resulted in further bindings to Ari's magic, this time the prisoner block tied to the wards on Privet Drive and a dark blood tracker.

There were gasps at the events of Ari's first year and the Philosophers Stone. They thought they could not be shocked again, until they viewed the events of his second year and the size of the basilisk he had fought to save the school and its inhabitants. There was disgust at the behaviour of Dumbledore, Snape and to a lesser degree the casual cruelty of McGonagall.

However, the final memory shook them all, particularly Narcissa and Amelia. It was Sirius' last moments; _''I know we have been meeting for a while 'Harry', but there is something really important that I must tell you. I am not just your Godfather and your parent best friend, I'm...'' There was a loud shout and the door of the shrieking Shack was blown off revealing Snape with Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger either side of him._

_Snape sneered at Sirius and taunted him ''So Black couldn't resist could you, you thought you could have her son as well. Unfortunately, you will not be available to pamper Prince Potter, in fact you have a date for a kiss.'' _

_This was followed by an exchange of spells between Sirius and Snape. While Ari was shouting that Sirius was innocent and trying to help him by firing spells at Snape. Unfortunately for Ari, Granger and Weasley got involved telling him to stop and that Black was guilty of murder and betraying his parents, that Black had confunded him. However, they didn't just stop there, just as Sirius and Ari were about to finish Snape off, the other 2 cast stunners at both of them. Weasley missed, but Granger hit Ari stunning him and the memory went dark. _

_The memory started again, as Ari obviously was revived or broke the spell. He was in what those present knew was Dumbledore's Office, Sirius was manacled and held by 2 Aurors and Snape, Granger and Weasley had smug and triumphant expressions on their faces, while Cornelius Fudge was rubbing his hands together with glee and ordered the 3rd Auror to 'fetch the Dementor'. _

_Ari again violently protested Sirius' innocence, but Dumbledore stated ''Harry my boy he is guilty. We know he is guilty, you only believe him because he has used dark magic to confund you''. Before he could say more, the cold hearted Old Man cast a Silencio at Ari to prevent him speaking._

_Dumbledore smiled his false grandfatherly smile, before turning to Sirius ''Sirius Orion Black by order of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge and endorsed by myself as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, you are hereby sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. To be carried out in this location, on this, the 15th day of May 1994.''_

_Ari broke through the Silencio and continued to protest Sirius' innocence and while Weasley and Granger were escorted out of the office, Ari was not. _

_In a final act of cruelty by Dumbledore he was restrained by Snape with a perfect view as Sirius' was 'Kissed', Sirus had locked eyes with Ari and died knowing that his son was present and witnessing the barbaric act... the final part of the memories was Ari screaming, a rippling of the air from the waves of magic that he was emanating and the triumphant looks in the eyes of both Dumbledore and Snape..before all glass in the office was broken by an explosive wave of magic..._

As the memories finished, Amelia, Xeno, Richard, Lucius and Narcissa sat back too shocked and appalled to say anything.

Lucius broke the silence ''They made him watch, those bastards made him watch while his father was murdered in the most inhumane way possible. They will pay for what they did to my youngest son.'' His voice was so cold it sent chills down the spines of those present, the atmosphere held the threat of violence.

The looks on the faces of the others was identical to his, they would make those who had deliberately subjected a young teenager, a child to such horror.

Xeno looked over and caught Lucius' eyes, his held the same cold and determined look. A nod of agreement was silently exchanged between themselves, one of the guilty parties would pay tonight.

Jacques was called by Cissa and a light lunch was delivered, although nobody ate much. What was, was eaten in almost silence, while individually everyone was reflecting on what they had seen and what they could do about it.

Corsham Court (Malfoy Manor) 2000 Thursday 19th May

After a very unpleasant morning, Ari had rested all afternoon, eating in his room and only having contact with Jules, when he had brought his meals and taken a message to Lucius to confirm he would meet him in the estate office at 1930, so they could travel to Malfoy Manor. It was time to deal with Snape and the real Death Eaters. He had to admit, after reviewing and reliving some of his memories, he was looking forward to dealing with Snape. Yes tonight he would lance the suppuration that was Snape.

Having portkeyed to the Manor with Lucius, they were now walking into the medieval dungeons below ground level. A relic of an older building, they were everything a dungeon was portrayed as in theme parks and old movies; dank, dark and forbidding with damp walls and a foetid atmosphere, lit only by low torch light. Coming to the end of the corridor, they met up with Xeno who was standing leaning against the wall next to a locked cell, dressed in full Unspeakable robes.

With a nod and a quick half smile ''Are you ready for this Aries?'' At a small affirmative nod from Ari, he continued ''I have wrung him dry of useful information, so he is all yours. Oh by the way, what goes on in this room stays in this room. Don't you agree Lucius?''

''Oh absolutely.'' Lucius replied in a bland voice, looking at Ari with a completely blank face.

Ari got the message ''Oh thank you gentlemen, it has been some time since I had a good workout.''

With a cold feral smile he nodded to the 2 men and opened the door and entered, noticing that Xeno and Lucius took identical positions either side of the door to be on hand if he needed them.

**(Torture scene starts, don't like or not of age don't read)**

The sight that met Ari's eyes brought a gleeful grin to his mouth. In the dim torch light of a cold damp dungeon, wearing only a pair of stained baggy grey Y fronts, hanging from shackles on bloody mangled wrists from the ceiling and held steady by more shackles to both ankles to the floor, was his second worst enemy, one Severus Tobias Snape. His greasy lank hair hung down over his face and dried blood coated his forearms, where it had run from wound on his wrists as a result of struggles to get loose. He was covered in bruises, shallow inflamed lacerations criss crossed his body and his own dried blood and bodily waste coating the floor and his feet. It was obvious that Xeno and possibly Lucius had already had some 'fun' time with the scum bag.

Ignoring the stench, Ari walked briskly to where Snape hung and taking a potion vial from his pocket he made a small cut on his ring finger letting 5 drops of blood fall in the vial, before healing the small cut. He followed the same process with Snape, casting a _Deffindo _on his arm collecting 5 drops of blood as it dripped off his elbow. With a quick swirl of the vial, the potion turned from silvery grey to a sickly yellow. It only took Ari 5 minutes to mark the runes that would trap the foul magic of Voldemort's soul connections when he ripped the connections from the remaining Death Eaters.

He didn't have to be careful here, the scum would die anyway, either from the initial breach when he tore the soul connection out of their cores or from the loss of their magic as it leaked from the opening that would remain after the connection was removed. A hole that would be impossible to heal, leaving one of 2 outcomes. Death or life as a muggle. There would be no excuse of _Imperius _here, no bribes would save the scum this time.

Taking a deep breath Ari stepped back and leant against the closed door, he sneered at the pathetic excuse for a human that had been the cause of so much misery in his life. This creature had gleefully laughed at himself and Sirius, he had physically forced him to look whilst his beloved 'Godfather' was killed in the vilest manner possible, this creature had bullied and tormented him for 3 years (despite knowing that he was no Pampered Prince), he had tried to rape his mother, he had led Voldemort to his parents and watched as they were killed, this bastard had almost caused the extinction of a 2500 year old family line and its magic. But now, the roles were reversed, just as Snape had been instrumental in taking the most important things in his life, his parents. He was going to take the most important things in Snape's life, namely his magic and his potions.

Ari was looking forward to this, before he used Snape as the conduit to destroy the Death Eaters he was going to have some fun. It was time for Snape to 'pay the piper'.

Pushing away from the door he waved his hand causing the more torches to light on the walls and raising the light levels significantly. Casting an _Ennervate_ he waited for Snape to respond when all the creature did was moan he proceeded to cast _Aguamenti Maximus _and a fire hose size jet of ice cold water hit the man, forcing his body to bow in the middle putting more strain on the already bleeding wrists and opening up many partly healed cuts, before banishing the dirty water from the floor. Faugh! he didn't want to step in this scum's filth.

This dousing caused Snape to raise his head with a further moan and look straight into Ari's eyes, glittering with a cold avada green fire. Looking into the black eyes of his enemy, Ari sneered and in a sing song mocking voice said ''Well, well, well, Snivilleus, we are in a spot of bother aren't we?'' he continued to hold Snapes eyes, his own reflecting all of the hate and contempt he felt for this 'man'.

Snape attempted his own sneer ''Get me out of here Potter or you will regret it when Dumbledore gets here.''

Ari laughed at that ''Get you out of here Snivilly? When Dumbledore gets here?'' Ari snorted ''As if that's going to happen... No, for you there is no 'getting out' of here... yet'' he stated with quotation marks in the air he continued looking at Snape with a smirk and continued ''you will be helping me out on a little research.. you see I found a couple of useful spells in one of my family Grimoirs and you are going to help me test them.'' Before Snape could collect his thoughts on a response, Ari raised his wand and said circled it in a 4 turn corkscrew before stabing forward and saying quietly ''_Dementos Ceteris''._

A beam of crackling dark blue eldritch fire left the wand hitting Snape as Ari conjured a comfortable reclining chair and a glass of white wine and rested back watching Snape. It only took about 30 seconds for Snape's eyes to fix on his in horror and only another 30 seconds before he started to moan. A minute later the first scream was heard, followed by many more. The men outside looked up at the first scream and exchanged vicious grins, yes Aries was having some fun first.

Ari let the spell carry on for ½ an hour before cancelling it. He got up again and cast a _Petrificus_ on Snape.

As his head snapped up, Ari took great delight at the fear now showing in his eyes, [mmm yes the Dementor spell developed by Ignotus Peverell worked very well, he would definitely use it on some of his other enemies].

He addressed Snape again in a bored clinical voice ''Dementors are not nice are they Snivilly? Oh well never mind, enough social pleasantries for now, I have a job to do and I did promise Lucius we would have time for a nice relaxing single malt later...'' After taking a cube of crystal from his pocket, Ari put his wand to Snapes head and murmered ''_Memorium et Scholar Totalus Potions.'' _With that Ari pulled a long strand of silver memories from Snape, connecting the strand to the crystal, which absorbed and stored the memories, learnt skills and knowledge for use later. After all, the man had been recognized as the leading Potion Master in Europe, if not the Northern Hemisphere, just a few short moments before. It would not do for that knowledge and skills to be lost. The beauty of this spell from the Black Family Grimoire was that it removed the target memories and knowledge in their entirety, permanently.

The result here was to removal of the man's potions knowledge and learnt potions skills. The horror on Snape's face when he realised what Ari was doing brought a delighted grin to the youths face. Snape had just realised that pay back really was a bitch.

Once the memory flow ceased and as the final wisps entered the storage crystal, Ari broke the connection with a snap. This resulted in a backlash of magic causing Snape to scream as he experienced what felt like a white hot poker searing through his brain. The man who just 20 minutes ago was one of the pre-eminent Potions Masters alive, now had no more knowledge and skills than an eleven year old muggle-born opening a potions book for the first time.

Once that was done, the Snape was left with only the knowledge, that he had once been a highly skilled Potions Master and a devastating feeling of unutterable loss for something he had loved above anything else and had lost. That was pay-back for his mother and James, payback for Sirius would come shortly.

Snapes was now openly weeping, he was a broken man, his eyes fill were now filled with fear and heartache, as Ari smiled sweetly at him and let a little laugh escape. Oh Goddess he would have to be careful not to get to like this feeling too much, it was bloody intoxicating. He would have to talk to Lucius and Xeno about how they staved of the temptation of the 'darkness'.

Putting that feeling to one side he then proceeded to cast _Reducto's _at each of Snape's hands, crushing every bone in his hands and mangling the nerves. To the accompaniment of the man's screams. This was followed by a permanent and very strong Parseltongue fixing spell. The result was to fix the bones in the mangled positions they were in. The damage could never be fixed and could only be reversed by a Parselmouth stronger than he was. Severus ''Snivillius'' Snape would never brew another potion or use a wand. Ari snorted at the last thought, Old Snivilly would need help wiping his own arse from now on. Payment for his treatment of 'Harry Potter' had been collected in full. He had taken away the thing he loved most, potions.

With a silent 'right onto the main event', Ari opened the door ''Xeno, Lucius, would you care to join me? I am about to cast the spell''. (It had been the worst 90 minutes of Snivillius Snape's life and it was about to get worse.)

It was Xeno who replied ''Of course Aries. Do you need the pepper-up now?''

''No thanks, Xeno, I'll have it later.'' Ari said looking over at Lucius who was studying Snape with a sneer on his face.

Lucius caught his look and the slight uncertainty in his face and immediately went over to him, putting his arm around Ari's shoulders, giving him a gentle hug, he whispered ''It's all right, I will always love and respect you. You are my son now, you know that don't you?''

Lucius glanced up at Snape and sneered at the man again before continuing softly ''He deserved everything you have done and more''. Ari gave him a quick hug back and a smile. Seeing Ari's smile, with a reassuring one armed hug he let him go and stood back.

With a questioning look at the at the 2 men and after receiving affirmative nods indicating 'carry on', Ari released Snape's left arm from the shakles and gripping the arm tightly placed his wand tip directly on the shadow of the dark mark. He briefly closed his eyes and connecting with his magic, feeling the hum of the Runes around him, he began to cast the spell to rip the soul connection from all of the Death Eaters.

Speaking in Parselmouth he communicated with the Parsel Magic, Slytherins magic in the mark, opening up the connection then the words ''_Abjuration Etromsdrom, I disavow all who carry this mark, Abjuration Etromsdrom, I disavow all who carry this mark, Abjuration Etromsdrom, I disavow all who carry this mark...I reject all how carry this mark... As Head of the Slytherin Clan I take back the magic of My Family... '' _

On and on it went the foul black wisps of magic being drawn into the Rune Cluster around Snape. When Ari could feel no more of the soul magic, meaning all of the connections had been ripped out of the Death Eaters magical cores, he changed the focus.

Focusing solely on Snape, he cast a different spell from the Slytherin Family Grimoire ''_Seco Sempra Severus Snape Magica Totalis, Seco Sempra Severus Snape Magica Totalis, Seco Sempra Severus Snape Magica Totalis''. _Ari felt the sudden absence of Snape's magic as the man lost consciousness.

With that Ari loosed his left arm and stepped out of the Rune Circle. Snape was left hanging by his right arm from the ceiling a crippled useless muggle. His magical core ripped open and its connections severed. Aries Chambord-Potter-Black had extracted payment for the single person he had loved and needed the most. Sirius Orion Black, his father, had been avenged and Snape had paid with the only thing he had left. His magic.

Ari looked at Xeno and Lucius and said softly ''Its done, all of the remaining Death Eaters, no matter where or who they are now have an unrepairable breach in their magical cores.'' He took a deep breath before continuing ''Depending on their strength and age, they will either die or live as muggles. This proccess is going to happen rather quickly and I doubt those on the Wizengamot will be attending the assembly on Monday.''

Xeno and Lucius nodded and smiled with satisfaction at this. Before Xeno asked ''What shall we do with this scum? I'm finished with him.'' indicating the still unconscious Snape.

Lucius replied with ''I have no further use for him, I have already extracted payment for his attempts to corrupt Draco.''

Ari considered for a moment and said ''I have one more spell I would like to cast, no make that 3 spells.'' With a vicious grin, continuing ''They will make his remaining life quite miserable and I do want him to live to suffer''.

With Lucius' ''Go ahead Ari''.

Ari walked slowly over to Snape and cast an _Ennervate_, looking into the man's eyes has he came around with a moan. ''Ah Snivilly, with us again at last. I have some good news for you, my friends over here have decided to let you go in a few moments.'' Ari gave what would have been a bright happy grin if not for the hard hate filled eyes that drilled into Snape's own ''I have a couple of parting gifts for you though... just a little reminder of your interactions with my parents and myself. Of course, you won't be able to talk about them or anything that's happened here, but I know that they will be a reminder of myself and my families. Think of it as a little prank, a fond farewell from Prongs, Padfoot, Tigger and Baheera of the Marauders.''

Ignoring everything Snape was saying, most of it insults he cast the first spell ''_Emasculate totalum, cauterus'' _causing Lucius and Xeno to indulge in soft chuckles as he cut off all external bits that made Snivillius Snape male. Next Ari walked behind him, aiming at his behind and cast ''_Sectum ani externus et internus''. _Ari knew it was cruel and petty, but then so was the scum he had done it to. He had with 2 spells removed Snape's 'wedding tackle' and cut the external and interior sphincters in his rectum. Snape would have to wear nappies/diapers for the rest of his life, he had just rendered him doubly incontinent.

As Ari cast a quick _Episkey Magnus _made sure that the bleeding stopped and the healing magic could not be reversed.

As he finished he tuned out Snape's screams and heard the chuckles coming from the 2 men he turned to them and shrugged ''I know, I know it was cruel and petty, but, so is he.'' Gesturing over his shoulder at Snape.

Lucius stopped laughing and just smiling asked ''Where did you learn that last spell? I've never seen or heard it mentioned.''

''Oh, my mothers diary.'' Ari replied

Mutters of 'scary witch, really scary witch', 'bloody hell Tiger Lily' from both men caused Ari to relax.

He had one final thing to do. With ''_Fideleus_ _Memorium et Potter, malfoy... Aries Potter tu Fidelius'', _one very brief and powerful spell later Snape could not tell anyone what Ari had done to him, except of course Aries Potter, the secret keeper.

With a sigh, Ari looked at Lucius and said ''I'm done, lets go home and have a relaxing drink.''

At their agreement, all 3 turned around leaving the sobbing broken muggle called Severus Snape alone to reflect on what had happened over the last 2½ hours and why.

**End M rated torture scene**

Châteaux Chambord; 2345 Thursday 19th May

Ari had just entered his bedroom and poured himself another small single malt sitting on the balcony looking at the stars, he reflected on the events of the evening. Lucius had reassured him that as long as he continued to be aware of the lure of the dark arts, he would not be consumed by them. It was a minimal risk though, it was doubtful that he would have to repeat his actions of today's for a long time.

With a final sigh he downed his drink and got into bed. A small smile playing on his lips, tomorrow he would begin really getting to know Fleur, Daphne and Susan.

…...

Whew, I think I may have got carried away on the Snape scene, please let me know what you think, but no flames please. I am somewhat fragile at the moment after another bout of chemotherapy and neutropenic sepsis.

I am sorry for the delay of nearly a month and hope to get the next chapter done quicker, though it may be shorter than the usual average of 6000 words.

Thanks for reading and especially those who take the time to comment.


	14. Chapter 14

**Rise of the Grey Lords Chapter 14**

Standard disclaimer; I do not own or claim any rights of ownership to the world of Harry Potter or the characters portrayed within it. I can only thank a brilliant original author J.K Rowling for allowing us to play in her world.

A**N. I am sorry for the long delay in this story, I have been rather ill post surgery and am still on significant levels of analgesia which affects my reasoning and concentration. Please be gentle this chapter is not as good as I would like and rather fluffy and girly. I have found out I am crap at teenage interactions, but I needed to start building the relationship between Aries and the girls. Still looking for a beta reader, particularly someone skilled in grammar (I'm shite at it)**

Thank you everyone for reading.

Châteaux Chambord; 1050 Friday 20th May 1994 

**Duc's Suite**

The morning following the second ritual, Aries had a feeling of semi-contentment. The old Aries or as he now identified his younger self 'Harry Potter', would have never done what he did to Snape, the guilt would have destroyed him. But, he was not 'Harry Potter', he was Aries Potter-Black and he would never feel guilt or regret for taking revenge or retribution on those he saw as his enemies. In fact, he felt a sense of satisfaction. He would be moving onto the Weasels, Granger and others after his trip to take his OWL's and NEWTS. Those plans were only partly finalised, he wanted to strip Dumbledore's power off him first. Unfortunately, there was only a slight chance, that he would actually face criminal charges, but he had much more to loose than his liberty or his life and those things would be taken.

At that moment, Aries was to be found in his private study, finishing a solitary breakfast of croissants, preserves and a pot of rich latte coffee, whilst reviewing the Chambord family portfolio. In fact the only reason he had been keeping on top of all of the day to day mechanics of being the head of 3 families, let alone his Herbology and COMC studies was his time turner and resulting extra day.

With a final signature to sign off on the sale of 20 Hanoverian yearlings and the projected harvest of potions ingredients (most used by Lamarque Potions a company he owned), Aries reached for his coffee and relaxed thinking about what his priorities were for the next couple of days.

[Mmm tomorrow he would have to visit Potters Croft Castle and re-set the wards, he also needed to catch up with Dobby who as his personal elf was temporarily taking charge of the Potter Estates. Yep, he needed to appoint a new House Potter Head Elf, or ask Dobby if he wanted to stay in that post, thinking about it that was maybe the best solution. He much preferred the far less manic personality of Jules, yes, that was that sorted; Dobby would be the head elf of House Potter, Jules would be his personal elf and Jacques would take over as Chambord head elf. He just needed to check if Jules was amenable to all of the little jobs he would need him to do, after all, no one else would know that he personally would be taking care of some of their more obdurate opponents, permanently.]

[ He would check out Black Manor next week. He would be staying there while he took his OWL's and NEWT's and portkeying daily to St Marteen's. Thinking about it, maybe the girls would be amenable to a trip to the castle and the manor today... yes... that was worth a suggestion and he did want to add them to the wards. They did need to get to know him and what better than exploring one of their future homes together. He would definitely have to inform them that he would be spending some alone time with each of them and he needed to ask Susan about that shot of magic he felt the other day... yeh he needed to know what that was... Oh well confident face on, start as you intend to continue. There would only be one dominant in their relationship and that was him... it was evident from the reading he had done that males with as much Veela blood as he had, always were, not to mention he would not tolerate ever being ordered around by anyone, no matter who they were ever again ... mmm best leave that thought there for now.. I wonder who will end up being my primary wife, that's how the best polygamous marriages worked; a primary wife and however many secondary ones, it was a very subtle distinction...bugger he had to formally accept his betrothed so the bonding process could start, goddess magic was complicated but at least this only required the formal acknowledgement and a kiss, bugger I've got to get these hormones under control …I should be a natural at this I'm more bloody Veela than human, huf dream on Ari not until those damn hormones have settled.. oh well time meet my 'beauties'.]

Smiling at his private name for his 3 betrothed, Ari stood and after briefly checking his appearance in the mirror (hair neatly tied in its usual low tail, navy blue chinos, black dragon hide boots, cream silk v-neck shirt and navy cashmere sweater.) Satisfied with his appearance and smiling wryly at his vanity, he left his sanctuary to spend the day with his betrothed.

Chambord Family Sitting Room 1100, Friday 20th May (edited to)

Aries quietly entered his favourite room in the Châteaux 10 minutes later. He was treated to a sight that got his recently developing hormones pumping again and gave him a warm feeling of anticipation.

The girls were sat on the terrace framed by the open double doors, with the morning sun behind them they looked like beautiful angels. Shaking his head at that foreign (for him) thought, he greeted them with a cheerful ''Good morning beautiful ladies.''

All 3 looked up a bit startled, they had been engrossed in their conversation and gave a chorus of identical 'Morning Ari' .From the slight blush on their faces and the startled look on Susan's face, it was apparent that he had been the subject of their conversation.

Smiling slightly at them, Aries decided to spare them any further embarrassment, after a quick call to Jacques to bring him a glass of iced water, he sat down opposite them and addressed his 3 betrothed with a smile and '' What do you you lovely ladies have planned for us today?''

The three of them looked across at him before looking at each other, Aries watched this silent exchange and relaxed slightly, it was apparent that they were as nervous about this as he was. It was after all the first time that the 4 of them had been alone together without adults or other members of their group.

Fleur who took the the lead though, taking a deep breath before answering his question ''Daphne, Susan and myself would like to do a couple of things today''. At his encouraging nod and smile, she continued, with a slightly nervous smile ''We would like to discuss how our relationship will work.'' she was a bit more relaxed now, continuing ''I have talked to Daphne and Susan about what it means to be bonded to a male Veela..'' All of the girls blushed deeply with that, before rushing on ''and we need to talk about something Susan did the other day.. which.. oh merde!.. she hmm.. she...we think she.. .''

Aries quickly reached across the table and shaking his head slightly, indicating she should stop. He smiled at her, before taking her hand and raising it to his lips placing a whisper of a kiss in the palm. ''Thanks for that Fleur, I think I have some idea of what happened, I certainly felt some magical discharge that could only have come from Susan.'' Releasing her hand he relaxed back in his chair and took a sip of water, before meeting the eyes of Susan and Daphne questioning if they had anything they wanted to add to what Fleur had said. Receiving negative head shakes from both

He started ''I also wanted to discuss how I see our relationship being and yes having around 75% Veela blood does have an impact on that.'' He paused briefly seeing their eyes widen slightly, he carried on ''and I have a few thing I want to do which I require your presence for.''

Daphne and Susan who had yet to speak other than their 'morning Ari' both started to talk together and then stopped looking embarrassed, when this happened again, all 4 of them looked at each other and started to laugh at themselves. After a few minutes of general laughter the awkwardness and nerves that all of them had felt was relieved and they relaxed, smiling at each other, the girls giving the occasional giggle.

With Susan's ''You first'' to Daphne, Aries moved his focus to the beautiful brunet, with a last muffled giggle, she assumed her normal composed demeanour before asking ''What did you want to do that needs us Ari?''

''Yes Aries, do tell'' Susan added with her normal mischievous nature reasserting itself, Fleur finally getting her giggles to subside nodded in agreement.

''Well'' Aries answered with a slight grin ''I would like to get your focus bangles made this morning, I would also like to get the wards set at Potter Croft Castle and the Blackstock Plantation so that only us can have access to our primary houses. Besides I think it is time my ladies see their other homes.'' he saw their excited smiles and was that the cool and composed Daphne actually giving a 'squeal'? He continued, casually ''and of course I want us to formally accept and initiate the first part of the bond.''

The girls had evidently not expected this, however, if their flushed faces, dilated pupils and quickened breathing was any indication, they were definitely not adverse to this happening. In fact he could feel a surge in the magic around them and his own magic was humming through him in response.

Susan spoke first, in a breathy voice ''I would like that very much Aries.'' Before looking down waiting for her pulse and breathing to slow down. Aries just nodded taking her hand and placing a small kiss on her palm as he had done with Fleur earlier, feeling her magic mixing and intertwining with his strengthening the bond that was developing between them. With a ''Thank you my Lady.'' Aries moved his focus ''Daphne?'' he asked.

Daphne looked up into his sincere and mesmerising green eyes; the leashed power that burned there was totally intoxicating. Feeling her magic reaching out for and intertwining with his and her body reacting with arousal, despite her young age, this was her love, he was the only one worthy of her, he completed her. Without conscious thought she leaned as close to Aries as she could get and in a soft sultry voice almost purred ''Oh yes my Lord Aries, the sooner I belong to you, the better, the sooner the better.'' Aries' magic was reacting to Daphne exactly as it had to Susan's, although it seemed to be an even stronger reaction, kick starting his hormones into overdrive. He could get drunk on Daphne very easily, her magic had an intoxicating dark feeling and her ready submission to him was making it hard to think rationally.. sweet Morgana! they were too young to be having these reactions.

With a supreme effort and strengthening his Occlumency shields, Aries managed to rein in his baser instincts and taking both of her hands in his placed a a longer kiss in both palms before saying ''You honour me my Lady.''

Finally, he turned to Fleur lowering his shields somewhat ''Ma Belle Fleur?''. Fleur looked deeply into his eyes before taking his hand and repeating his own actions from earlier and placing a far from chaste kiss on the palm of his hand, being a Veela also, she felt their bond flare up on two levels. Their magic surged through it twisting itself together tightly and her inner Veela surged to complete the bond with its chosen mate, pulling them even closer, needing to complete their bond. The magic was now thrumming through and around them, as it strengthened and became visible to the other two present. Fleur's inner Veela was thrumming with content her mate was here, her other half; without even thinking about her answer, she was saying the traditional words of bonding between two Veela ''Your desires are now my own Monseigneur, I accept you as my mate.'' The visible aurora of magic that was around them now began swirling waiting for the dominant mate to accept.

Aries nodded acknowledgement of the first part of the bonding oath she had given, yes she knew he would be her lord and master and she welcomed it,he was her mate as she was his. The dominant Veela in him wanted, no needed to accept her as his mate to complete the bond.

Extracting his hand from her loose grip he took both of hers and placed a lingering kiss in the palms of both her hands, before placing the palms of his hands on top of them. With the palms of his hands flat on top of Fleur's, not realising that gold and silver streams of magic were swirling about them at an ever increasing speed. He completely lowered his occlumency shields and looking deeply into Fleur's eyes and stated ''Yes you are my mate and I accept the bond and I thank you ma Belle Amour''. They both felt their Veela selves exult as the bond snapped into place, making that part of themselves whole and complete.

It was as his mother had said in one of her journals, once a Veela found their mate and the bond was accepted the feeling was an indescribable sense of belonging one to the other. Fleur called out to him on a deeper level she really did complete him. She would be his primary wife, his mate. He had made his decision.

The swirling aurora of magic around them had flashed once as Aries accepted the bond and vanished. Both of them looked at each other and now holding hands and leant in at the same time so their lips met in a lingering though chaste kiss. They smiled as they separated and came back to awareness. Loosing Fleur's hands Aries relaxed back in his chair and glanced at his other two betrothed only to blush at the stunned expression on both their faces.

It was Daphne who broke the small silence with a stuttered ''Tttthat w..w..was b..beu..beautiful. D..d..did y..y..you two just bond?''.

If possible Ari's blush got even deeper and he nervously ran his hand through his hair dislodging the

retaining clip and looked at them before responding or rather attempting to respond ''Um.. weeell um.. oh ..yea we did.'' [Bugger where was his confidence when he needed it.] He shrugged and looked at them helplessly, still looking slightly embarrassed and not knowing what to say.

Suddenly Susan smiled and a giggle escaped her, this was followed by Daphne doing the same, taking his eyes of the giggling pair Ari looked at Fleur who had a wide smile on her face, it was then it hit him, there was no way they had known that this was going to happen but here he was a 13 soon to be 14 year old Veela bonded to a 16 year old the shock hit him. What had they done, bloody hell Aunt Cissa, Appoline, Marcel would kill him he looked at Fleur who just smiled and said ''Ignore the 2 hyena's''. By this time Susan and Daphne where holding their stomachs laughing so hard it hurt.

''What's so funny anyway?'' Aries asked

Fleur smiled at him and replied ''The look on your face my lord. You looked so shocked and embarrassed when you realised what we had done.'' She reach for his hand and gave a slight squeeze ''Don't worry about it Ari, tell ma mere and mon pere and Narcissa and Lucius tonight, mm?'' at his nod she continued ''now lets get the two imbeciles calmed and we can go and make our focus bands, Ooo I cannot wait to see what my stone is and what the finished one will look and feel like.''

With that they spent the next 10 minutes calming Daphne and Susan down until Aries resorted to saying if they didn't go and finish the focus bangles now they wouldn't have time until after he came back from taking his OWL's and NEWT's.

Susan was the first to regain her composure and congratulated both Fleur and Ari on their bonding. She was closely followed by Daphne who went one further with a formal kiss on both cheeks, grinning wickedly when Ari blushed again.

Aries decided to regain a measure of control over the situation, his magic having now adjusted to the bond.

He looked over at a smirking Daphne and with an inquiring look he said ''You do realise that you will experience something very similar don't you? After all, my having to accept the bond has confirmed that my Veela side is dominant.''

Both Daphne and Susan looked startled and then they remembered what Fleur had told them (after a vow of secrecy). Male Veela were very rare outside of the Veela Nation and there was no way to tell if Veela traits were dominant until they bonded. Then unless the bonded was another Veela, their chosen mate or mates (as was usually the case with male Veela) had no choice in the matter the Veela would take them as their mate whether they consented or not. In other words male Veela were predators, they took what they wanted.

Daphne bowed her head in acknowledgement ''I'm sorry Aries, its just I don't think I have ever seen you flustered and it was reassuring to see you are not perfect all the time. You can be quite intimidating you know.''

He smiled and gave her hand a quick kiss ''Its fine Daphne, besides everybody needs a good laugh now and then.''

Susan spoke up then and said ''I'm really sorry as well Aries. As Daphne said, its nice to know your just a teenager like us.'' Her smile was reflected in her big sapphire blue eye, her sincerity apparent.

He looked at her and returned her smile ''Its Ok beautiful, I occasionally need a kick up the ass to stop me being an arrogant tosser.'' They all had a had a laugh at that.

Aries looked at his watch and stood up then with ''Right, its 1 o'clock now, I think its time to go get my ladies fitted with their foci and grab a quick lunch while we're there. I want to finish these for a couple of reasons, but, don't forget I still want to visit our other primary houses.''

With Fleur holding his right arm and Daphne his left, Susan holding onto Fleur they quickly made their way to the 4th floor work room that was at the top of Aries' corner of the châteaux.

**Duc's Retreat 1305 CET Friday 20th May 1994**

Traditionally, this room at the top of the south-east corner of the châteaux, was called the Duc's retreat by the elves. It had been used for centuries by his ancestors to pursue their hobbies and store their secrets without the risk of being interrupted by anyone. Including their wives.

Ari led the girls to the door and stated quite firmly ''Right ladies, you can only see and access this door when you are accompanied by the current Duke. It is part of the Chambord Charter and there are things in here that other must not have access to, if they did it could compromise the safety of my family and in some cases the magical world.'' He paused briefly while still looking at them ''I must insist that you do not ask or attempt to return here. Before we enter do I have your oath's that you will comply with my requests?'' He maintained his serious manner, studying them very seriously until all 3 had given the required oath then with a satisfied nod and relaxing is demeanour he touched the Chambord ring to the door and stepped back as the door vanished.

Aries walked into the space where the door had been and told the girls to enter. As he followed them in the door reappeared behind him sealing the room. Without saying anything he led the way over to what they saw was a hidden terrace with a small table and a spectacular view down the valley, to the south of the châteaux.

Looking at his beauties, Ari grinned and said ''Make yourselves comfortable lovely ladies.'' before he flopped down in an armchair and pressed what appeared to rune on the rim of the table. Seconds later Jules popped in and with a bow asked ''How may Jules serve Master Aries.''

Aries smiled at elf and said ''Could you send us a light lunch and liquid refreshment please Jules.''

''One moment Master Aries.''

Literally a minute later a selection of sandwiches and drinks appeared on the table. Startling the girls. Before they could ask how Aries pre-empted the question with ''An enchantment on the room so that the master is not disturbed.'' Leaving it at that he grabbed his favourite chicken, bacon, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich and started munching. The girls were not far behind him and ½ hour later they were finished, buzzing with excitement waiting for Aries.

He saw how eager they and quickly finished his apple juice before getting up and walking over to a row of work benches under the windows at the east of the room.

''Right my ladies whose first?'' Aries asked

The Girls automatically looked at Fleur who indicated Susan.

While they looked on, he pulled out a small draw containing the bracelet and cores that Susan had selected; this was in a cuff design in brushed white gold about 3cm wide. There were tiny runes around the rolled edges and in an intricate raised rambling rose pattern around the middle in yellow and red (blood) gold. The cores (phoenix pinion feather from Pol, ashwinder blood and mane hair of a sphinx had already been added.

It was a beautiful and unique piece of jewellery, all it was waiting for was its focus stone and Susan's blood to bind it to her.

She looked at the cuff, eyes bright from un-shed tears. Ari levitated a large draw containing 100s of small closed boxes over to a work table that was placed parallel to the bench, he called Susan over and said ''Right Susan, these are various suitably sized gems that I've plundered from my vaults. I want you to run the index finger of your non-wand hand over these boxes and lift out any that give a pull on your magic.''

Susan looked at him with a confused expression and said ''But Ari I can't see what they are''

He laughed at that and said ''That's the point, you need to choose one to focus your magic, not because you like how it sparkles.''

''Oh'' was Susan's only response, before she started doing as Aries had asked.

While she was concentrating on this he showed Daphne and Fleur their foci.

They had chosen the same cuff style bracelets as Susan, the only difference was the material and the rune patterns. Daphne's was in blood gold, with clusters of small star shaped flowers, 'daphne's' in rhodium (mithril). Where Fleur's was made from platinum with yellow gold and silver runes and lilies, this one he privately thought was the most beautiful he had made to date. What none of the 3 girls knew was that Aries had added a core to these foci, well technically two; one of his hairs soaked in his blood. His mother and fathers had done the same with their wands and not only had it greatly greatly decreased their power usage, taking a lot less of their magic to achieve the desired result; it had strengthened their bond and the power behind their spells. He was going to ask them each to donate a couple of hairs and 3 drops of blood to add to his own wand and cuff, he was currently debating how to ask them for these items especially as he wanted the 3rd drop of blood to build trackers so that he would always be able to find them. After all was said and done they would be in danger when certain people found out he was betrothed and in Fleur's case bonded to them.

These cuffs were almost on a par with Ari's for power, both like Ari and Susan's contained one of Polaris' pinion feathers, whilst Fleur's had a 3 further cores; Antipodean Opaleye scale, phoenix ashes and basilisk blood. Daphne's other cores were; Golden Sniget claw, basilisk venom and Griffin mane hair. Both girls like Susan had were looking at their magical foci totally speechless, running their fingers over the pattern. Just as Fleur had looked up at Aries to speak a squeal was heard from Susan drawing their attention.

She was grinning with 3 small boxes in front of her.

Ari moved over to her with Fleur and Daphne who were going to choose their stones while Susan's stone was set.

He took Susan's choices over to where her bracelet was on the benchand pulled over a high stool saying ''OK Susan, I want you to sit down on the stool and then I'm going to cast a spell to cover your eyes for the next bit. OK?'' Susan nodded and quickly sat down, before Ari cast a quick _Obscurus _before continuing ''Now, relax and when I put these stones in your hands I want you to tell me exactly what you feel.'' The whole process took just 15 minutes before Ari cancelled the spell and let Susan refocus her vision.

In front of Aries next to her bracelet was a beautiful deep blue Ceylon Sapphire, it was according to the box 'Presented to Phillipe Chambord for services to Queen Marie Theresa 1662. Fine Royal Blue 6ctw. Oval 8x13'. It looked the perfect size to fit where two rose buds met in the middle of the band.

Ari looked from the stone to Susan was struck by something ''Susan this is exactly the same colour as your beautiful eyes.''

''Oh Ari'' the overwhelmed teen couldn't describe how good he made her feel with just a simple complement. She jumped off the stool and threw her arms around him giving him a quick kiss on his lips and a crushing hug, before releasing him and jumping back with a ''Oops I err I.. mm ..er I'm.. sssorry about that I got carried away.''

She looked up from under the cover of her hair that she had left loose today to see him standing wide eyed with his hand touching his lips and eyes wide. He shook himself and lifted her chin before saying anything. Then ''Don't be sorry I was just surprised, it was really nice'' he grinned and said ''Can I return the gesture.'' at her nod he leaned forward and gave her a soft closed mouth kiss, before breaking off after a couple of seconds. They both looked at each other before smiling, saying nothing but deciding to definitely do that again.

With nothing more said and their magic humming Susan sat back down and watched at Aries set the cuff in a padded vice before placing the sapphire in an indentation, where the 2 bud stems curved round ready for the gem to nestle between them.

Susan looked up when she felt the magic thicken around her and saw Ari concentrating with his wand sending a steady stream of iridescent light circling the gem, as she watched it seemed to sink into the cuff, giving off a soft blue glow. About 5 minutes later he stopped channelling his magic and let out a sigh. Looking at the finished item. With a nod of satisfaction, he turned to Susan and said ''All done''

Susan jumped off the stool and shot to look at her new very own magical focus she went to touch it and pulled her hand back. Ari looked at her and with a crooked smile released the cuff and handed it to her. Susan immediately felt a feeling of euphoria, much stronger than when she had got her wand. Her magic was surging through her, and a soft breeze was blowing around her.

Ari called her back to her self and said ''Sue you need to put an spot of blood on the stone and the runes around it to bind it to you and I need to finish Daphne and Fleur's foci, then we can get a snack and go to Potters-Croft.'' At he nod he passed a small silver knife and watched while she blooded the stone. Satisfied that the process was complete he called he attention back and said ''All right beautiful stop admiring it and if you look over there'' pointing to the opposite corner of the room ''That area is shielded, there are some targets and duelling dummies so you can go and test how to use your cuff as a focus and get to know how it varies from your wand.''

With one last bone crushing hug and and lots of kisses and thank you, she almost ran off to practice. Aries moved back over to Fleur and Daphne. Time to make his other two beauties happy.

Fleur ended with a beautiful 8ctw oval pale blue diamond, it had been very close with a beautiful clear aquamarine. He carefully separated the aquamarine, he had plans for that later as an idea for presents for his ladies came to him.

Daphne had only picked up one stone, a natural perfect marquise cut tanzanite, again the blue/lavender colour was a perfect match for he eyes and was the same shape as the petal of the flower she was named for.

With all of the girls rapturously happy and Aries having had lots of hugs and kisses, they rested for another quick snack.

Aries took 2 golden hourglasses out of his pocket and with a grin he dangled them in front of his 3 beautiful betrothed ''Time to go to our Castle.'' He said.

Daphne looked at the Potter grin and asked ''Ari, are they what I think they are?''

''That depends on what you are thinking lovely lady'' he said, his eyes alight with amusement.

''You can be a git Ari, are those time-turner's.'' Daphne shot back.

''Yep'' with a snap to the p. ''They are both 24 hours for one person, so I think if we go back 12 hours to 5am and take a short nap say 4-5 hours we can spend until about 4pm at the Castle and formally initiate the first phase of our bonding.'' They didn't interrupt, so he carried on ''and then go to the Plantation and laze on the beach for a while, its 6 hours behind us so we can spend 4 hours there and then come home, without exhausting ourselves. I do want to talk about how our relationship will be and I would much rather do it in a place where we cannot be interrupted, like a private Caribbean beach. What do you think?''

Daphne, Susan and Fleur exchanged another silent conversation before Fleur answered him ''Good plan my Monseigneur, lets just call Jules to pack us a few things, leave a message for Cissa and ma mere and we can go.''

It took 10 minutes to write quick notes saying that they were going to Black Manor and would be back by 10pm. By then Jules had brought small bags for the girls and Aries.

Because the room was shielded and warded, the quartet moved just outside the door and with after two small golden hourglasses were spun and in an instance the hallway was empty.

They appeared on the same spot at 0515 to extend what was turning into a nice relaxing day.

…...

AN. Sorry not much action, its a filler chapter to set up their relationships, but it seems logical to stop their. As I said at the beginning, a bit diabetes inducing but their hormones are only just kicking in so they wont be going into anything more adult for a couple of years at least. Please forgive the rambling.

Please let me know what you think, with any suggestions and please let me know any blatant errors I have made. BTW I know my grammar is poor any beta's out there willing to take this on?

Cheers


End file.
